Quantum Communication – hype or ripe? From QKD networks to a global Quantum Internet

• Organisers

  Hannes Hübel, Austrian Institute of Technology (AIT), Austria
  Bernhard Schrenk, Austrian Institute of Technology (AIT), Austria
  Helmut Griesser, ADVA Optical Networking GmbH, Germany

• Subcommittee

  CLEO^®/Europe Focus Meeting

• Day & Time

  18.09.2022, 14:00 – 17:30

• Location

  Room Boston

• Description

  Quantum technology is subject to intense academic and industrial debate due to its prospects as a game changer in the fields of secure communications, computation and sensing. However, there has been little action taken up to now when it comes to practical field-deployment as bearer for “live” end-user applications. Extending these networks to serve as a Quantum Internet in an emerging computing realm poses no smaller challenge.

  We will discuss the findings of recent field-installations conducted during first pilots supporting the ramp up of the EuroQCI (European Quantum Communication infrastructure) initiative, aiming to establish a Quantum Internet by the end of the decade – not only to ultimately contribute to data security but also to unleash new concepts such as distributed quantum computing and quantum sensing networks.

  The workshop is divided in three sessions: Presentations of Session 1 will set the scene by highlighting the findings of current QKD network deployments conducted during the past 12 months and the lessons learnt for the expansion towards a Quantum Internet. Session 2 will then focus on the technologies and feasibility to bridge longer distances for extended-reach quantum networks. Together with Session 3, it will also put focus on the controversy between a quantum repeater versus a repeaterless approach. Finally, Session 3 will elaborate on the applications of a global Quantum Internet and the timeframe for its practical deployment.

• Programme

  Welcome and Introduction (5 min)
   Hannes Hübel, Austrian Institute of Technology, Austria

  Session 1: First steps towards a quantum Internet: Lessons learnt from QKD field-demonstrators (60 min, 15 min per speaker)
   The BT Commercial London Quantum QKD Network and Evolution towards the Quantum Internet, Andrew Lord, BT, UK
   Integrated dynamic quantum networks for secure communications and quantum internetworking, Rui Wang, University of Bristol, UK
   Dynamic QKD as an application example in the HellasQCI ecosystem, George Kanellos, University of Athens, Greece
   DemoQuanDT – the quantum communication test link in Germany, Oleg Nikiforov, Deutsche Telekom, Germany

  Session 2: A Quantum Internet without repeaters – feasible or not? – Part I (15 min, 15 min per speaker)
   Quantum communication via satellites, Christoph Marquardt, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität, Germany

  Panel discussion & take-aways – Part I (15 min)

  Coffee Break (30 min)

  Session 2: A Quantum Internet without repeaters – feasible or not? – Part II (30 min, 15 min per speaker)
   The route to quantum repeaters based on quantum memories, Tracy E. Northup, University of Innsbruck, Austria
   Hollow core fibers: savior or death for quantum repeaters?, Francesco Poletti, University of Southampton, UK

  Session 3: On the road towards the Quantum Internet (45 min, 15 min per speaker)
   Developments of Quantum Networks, Jesse Robbers, Quantum Delta, Netherlands
   Applications for the Quantum Internet, Inder Monga, ESNet, USA
   Addressing technological challenges of quantum computing hardware: the rise of integrated photonics technologies, Ségolène Olivier, CEA-Leti, France

  Panel discussion & take-aways – Part II (15 min)

• Speakers

  Speaker 6: Tracy E. Northup, University of Innsbruck, Austria
  Title: The route to quantum repeaters based on quantum memories
  Biography: Tracy Northup is a professor of experimental physics at the University of Innsbruck, Austria. Her research explores quantum interfaces between light and matter, focusing on trapped-ion and cavity-based interfaces for quantum networks and quantum optomechanics. She received her PhD from the California Institute of Technology in 2008 and then held an appointment as a postdoctoral scholar at the University of Innsbruck, where she was the recipient of a Marie Curie International Incoming Fellowship and an Elise Richter Fellowship. She became an assistant professor at the University of Innsbruck in 2015 and has been a full professor since 2017. In 2016, she received the START Prize, the highest Austrian award for young scientists, from the Austrian Science Fund.

  Speaker 9: Inder Monga, ESNet, USA
  Title: Applications for the Quantum Internet
  Biography: Inder Monga serves as the Executive Director of Energy Sciences Network, a high-performance network user facility interconnecting the National Laboratory System in the United States, and Division Director for Scientific Networking Division at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. In addition to managing the organization, his efforts are directed towards advancing networking services for collaborative and distributed science. Along with ESnet, he is principal investigator for ongoing research projects including NSF’s nationwide FABRIC Advanced Networking Testbed, DOE’s QUANT-NET, quantum networking research and testbed and contributes to efforts in SENSE, that is building feature-rich APIs between science applications and network. His work experience in the private sector has included engineering for Wellfleet Communications and Nortel, where he focused on application and network convergence. He has over 20+ years of data networking and research experience and has been granted 23 patents. He earned his undergraduate degree in electrical/electronics engineering from Indian Institute of Technology in Kanpur, India, before coming to the U.S. to pursue his graduate studies in Boston University’s Electrical and Electronics Communication Systems Department.