NEC, Toshiba claim quantum security ‘world first’

• Japan’s NEC and Toshiba are two of the leading lights in the quantum security sector
• They are claiming a quantum key distribution (QKD) ‘world first’
• The partners multiplexed and generated QKD signals in an all-optical network

In Japan, Toshiba, NEC and the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) are claiming a significant breakthrough in the field of quantum-safe networking. 

In what the partners claim is a “world first”, quantum key distribution (QKD) signals were “multiplexed and generated in a system environment for the all-optical network IOWN” (innovative optical and wireless network), a next-generation network infrastructure that is being strongly promoted and developed by Japanese companies, including NTT. (For more on IOWN, see this recent video interview.) 

According to NEC, the recent demonstration made use of an all-optical network, across which Toshiba and NEC's “QKD signals, each of which has a different method, were multiplexed and transmitted in the same transmission section. This demonstration shows the possibility of constructing a QKD network on a telecommunications carrier's backbone network without constructing a new optical fiber infrastructure dedicated to QKD signals,” noted the vendor in this announcement (in Japanese), adding that “it is expected that quantum cryptography communication services will be provided to users over a wide area at low cost in the future.” 

NEC added: “As quantum cryptography communication becomes more practical, it is expected that multiple QKD signals of different methods will coexist in the same transmission section to improve the reliability of the QKD network. The demonstration of multiplexed transmission of two different QKD signals will promote the spread of quantum cryptography communication and contribute to the realisation of a more secure communication infrastructure.” 

Toshiba, NEC and NICT “will continue to accelerate research and development of QKD network technology to realize the deployment of QKD services over telecommunications carriers' all-optical networks, as well as to realize a safe and secure information society through application to a variety of use cases, including cloud services, finance, and government agencies,” NEC added. 

Toshiba has long been active in the development of quantum-safe communications infrastructure – it was a key technology partner for BT’s launch of the UK telco’s commercial quantum-safe networking service offering in 2022 and was recently named as a key tech partner for a service launch by Orange Business in France – and was recognised as one of the leading developers of technology that will enable quantum-safe networking in the results of a recent TelecomTV market perception survey of telecom professionals. 

For more on the results of that survey, see this article and TelecomTV’s latest DSP Leaders publication, the 14-page Quantum-Safe Networking Market Perception Report, which is free for anyone to download now. 

- Ray Le Maistre, Editorial Director, TelecomTV