Deutsche Telekom & Qunnect Sustain 99% Quantum Fidelity
Deutsche Telekom Innovation Laboratories (T-Labs), in collaboration with quantum networking hardware developer Qunnect, has marked a critical achievement in the realm of quantum communications.
Their joint effort resulted in demonstrating high-fidelity entangled photon transmission over a span of 30km using existing commercial fibre networks continuously for 17 days.Conducted in Berlin, this pivotal trial underscores the potential for a scalable quantum internet leveraging current telecommunications infrastructure.
Through its Berlin-based quantum research facility, T-Labs continues to explore disruptive technologies such as quantum networking, cybersecurity and digital twin solutions.
The collaborations often include partnerships with universities, start-ups and other technology leaders globally.
Achieving stable, long-distance entanglement
In a key field experiment, researchers distributed polarisation-entangled photons across a 30km fibre link, maintaining 99% fidelity over a 17-day period.
This milestone surpassed prior records in urban fibre networks, with system stability being ensured through automated environmental condition adjustments.
The project's successes also extended to dynamically routing entangled photons through multiple paths over a total of 82km, achieving fidelities above 92% amid conventional data traffic within the network.
This progress represents the most extended high-fidelity quantum entanglement distribution achieved within the O-band, interwoven with classical data in the C-band, over commercial fibre infrastructure.
Noel Goddard, CEO of Qunnect, says: "We are grateful to T-Labs and Deutsche Telekom for the opportunity to showcase the performance of our products integrated with classical data traffic over commercial network infrastructure.
"Such partnerships are critical for demonstrating the progress towards commercial utility of quantum networking."
Maintaining compatibility with existing infrastructure
Leveraging Qunnect's advanced quantum networking hardware, the Gotham Rack system facilitated this research.
The integration into Deutsche Telekom's infrastructure proceeded seamlessly without disrupting existing classical data traffic, highlighting the compatibility of quantum and classical systems.
Claudia Nemat, Deutsche Telekom's Board Member for Technology and Innovation, says: "Our fibre optics are ready for the Quantum Internet, even today.
"This is the first time that a major telecommunications provider has successfully triggered and conducted experiments with entangled photons on its own infrastructure.
"Our customers will benefit from such leaps in innovationâfor example, through highly secure communication."
Laying the foundation for the Quantum Internet
The ability to transmit polarisation qubits over current fibre networks is pivotal to scaling quantum communications.
These qubits serve as fundamental elements compatible with quantum technologies such as memories, sensors and computing devices yet require significant stabilisation efforts in fibre environments.
The trialâs outcome indicates the capacity of existing telecommunications networks to act as bedrocks for future quantum applications.
Beyond secure communications, quantum entanglement opens doors to enhanced services like ultra-precise time synchronisation crucial for satellite systems and advanced sensing for industrial IoT networks.
T-Labs' quantum research
Since inaugurating its dedicated Quantum Lab in Berlin in 2023, T-Labs has placed a strategic focus on exploring engineering quantum technologies into telecom operations.
Highlighting partnerships with renowned academic and industrial entities like technical universities in Berlin, Dresden, Munich and the Fraunhofer Institute HHI, T-Labs aims to enhance network security and operational performance by seamless quantum technology integration.
Through continuous collaboration with companies like Qunnect, T-Labs is accelerating the journey toward building commercially feasible, secure and efficient quantum networks.
This development by Deutsche Telekom and Qunnect not only sets new standards but also heralds the dawning of a new chapter in European network infrastructure.
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