Quantum teleportation demonstrated over existing fiber networks — Deutsche Telekom’s T‑Labs used commercially available Qunnect hardware for the demo, claims 90% average accuracy
Source: Tom’s Hardware
“Teleporting quantum information is now a practical reality,” asserts Deutsche Telekom. The firm’s T‑Labs used commercially available Qunnect hardware to demo quantum teleportation over 30 km of live, commercial Berlin fiber, running alongside classical internet traffic. In an email to Tom’s Hardware, Deutsche Telekom’s PR team said that Cisco also ran the same hardware and demo process to connect data centers in NYC.
The demos
Last month, T‑Labs completed the first practical test of the core components required for a future quantum internet, which would work by teleporting data. Central to the demo was Qunnect’s Carina platform, which integrates an entanglement generator, producing pairs of quantum‑entangled photons for distribution over telecom fiber.
The experiment recreated an identical quantum particle at the destination “using pre‑shared quantum entanglement rather than transmitting a physical particle,” explains Deutsche Telekom.
“Our fiber optic network is quantum ready,” said Abdu Mudesir, Telekom Board Member for Product and Technology. “In Berlin we have now proven that quantum information can be transmitted over 30 kilometers of commercial Telekom fiber optics outside of a laboratory.”
The official PR notes that the average accuracy of the teleported data is 90 %. Deutsche Telekom and Qunnect also aim to network quantum computers over longer distances, more locations, and multi‑node teleportation configurations.
The teleportation wavelength used was 795 nm, a sweet spot for integration with platforms such as neutral‑atom quantum computers, atomic clocks, and various quantum sensors.
A milestone
This achievement shifts quantum communications from an experimental lab technology toward something telecom providers can deploy. Key implications are expected in:
- Distributed quantum computing
- Quantum‑secure communication
- Quantum sensor networks
- Cloud‑based quantum services
As noted, Cisco used the same Qunnect hardware to run a similar demo in NYC. Earlier coverage reported Cisco’s quantum internet efforts and its plan to jointly build a distributed quantum computing network with the help of IBM.
Experts from Deutsche Telekom, Qunnect, and the Technical University Dresden will be available for discussion at MWC Barcelona on March 3, 2024, from 15:30 – 16:00 (CET). Deutsche Telekom will also feature a “Quantum Teleportation” showcase at its booth.
