BT Staging First Trial of End-to-End Quantum-Secured Communications for 5G & Connected Cars

(TechRadar) BT is joining forces with several UK startups to stage the world’s first trial of end-to-end quantum-secured communications for 5G and connected cars.
Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) is a supposedly ‘unhackable’ technique for sharing encryption keys between locations using a single stream of photons.
This ‘AIRQKD’ trial combines BT’s expertise in QKD with other quantum-enhanced security chips in mobile devices to create an ultra-secure link between 5G cell sites and mobile devices and connected cars. Other partners in the trial include Nu-Quantum, Angoka, and Duality.
Testing will take place over the next 36 months with £7.7 million in funding provided by the Quantum Technologies Challenge, led by UK Research and Innovation and it is hoped the project will strengthen the UK’s ambitions of being a leader in the field.