Quantum Internet Alliance Part of EU’s Quantum Technologies Flagship

(GovernmentEuropa) The Quantum Internet Alliance (QIA) forms part of the EU’s Quantum Technologies Flagship, at the cutting edge of quantum network exploration. The QIA aims to create the foundations of a quantum internet that can be rolled out internationally through the creation of quantum systems and infrastructure.
The form of the quantum internet infrastructure consists of quantum devices, which are attached to such a network so they can send and receive qubits. These can be simple photonic devices that can only prepare a qubit and send it somewhere or receive a qubit and measure it. It can also be more complicated with devices such as small quantum computers.
The second part of the quantum communication infrastructure is communication channels – classical bits can be sent over many telecom fibres. These are the same fibres that are used for quantum communication. In this project we do something that is quite sophisticated. We are going to demonstrate a proof of principle of what is called ‘Secure quantum computing in the cloud’, which is more complicated than secure communication.
In principle quantum communication can deliver security for any kind of data transmission. The most interesting thing is to use it for highly secure, security sensitive applications. This includes the security of highly critical infrastructure such as power grids and water management systems. For these systems it is critical to have a secure aspect. Secondly, it can be used to secure financial transactions.