A first: quantum cryptography used within a commercial network

Researchers demonstrated for the first time the transmission of data secured by quantum cryptography within a commercial telecommunications network. Forty-one partners from twelve European countries have worked on realizing this quantum cryptographic network since April 2004. Today (Wednesday, 9 October) the first commercial communication network using encryption based on quantum cryptography has been demonstrated in Vienna, Austria. The network consists of six nodes and eight intermediary links with distances between 6 km and 82 km (seven links utilizing commercial standard telecommunication optical fibers and one “free-space”-link along a line of sight between two telescopes). The links use altogether six different quantum cryptographic technologies for key generation which are integrated into the network over standardized interfaces.

The network is installed in a standard optical fiber communication ring provided by SECOQC partners, Siemens AG Österreich in Vienna. Five subsidiaries of Siemens are connected to the network. The operation of the quantum cryptographic network is visualized on a screen at the Siemens Forum in Vienna and streamed live over the Internet. The network-wide key generation and distribution was demonstrated, as well as presenting the different functionalities of the network and the utilization of the keys for standard communication applications. A low-cost key distributor, with the potential of extending the quantum cryptographic network to consumers, was also be shown.

The technical descriptions of the different quantum cryptographic technologies used in the network can be found on the project’s Web site.