Telecom Italia Teams with D-Wave for First Telecommunications Operation in Europe that Integrates Quantum Computing; Teams

(TelecomPaper) Telecom Italia (TIM) said its the first telecommunications operator in Europe to make use of the vast potential of quantum computing to plan its next generation mobile networks. In a statement, TIM said it teamed up with Canadian quantum computing company D-Wave to develop radio cell planning that ensures reliable, high performing mobile services. The partners optimised planning of radio cells within a QUBO (quadratic unconstrained binary optimisation) algorithmic model, carried out on D-Wave’s 2000Q quantum computer.
TIM specified that the QUBO algorithm was used to plan 4.5G and 5G network parameters and performed the task 10 times faster than traditional optimisation methods. “Since computing speed is expected to improve further as quantum computer technology evolves, the ability to configure the network in real time is a key aspect in providing customers with better mobile services,” said the operator.