Toshiba goes transatlantic with quantum-safe connectivity

• Toshiba has been at the forefront of quantum-safe communications developments for years already
• Now, in partnership with QBT and Telehouse, is has demonstrated a quantum-safe data transmission between the UK and Canada

Toshiba Europe and quantum-safe communications specialist Quantum Bridge Technologies (QBT) claim to have successfully demonstrated a secure, quantum-safe data transmission across a transatlantic network connection between the UK and Canada. 

The partners integrated Toshiba’s quantum-key distribution (QKD) technology installed in metro networks on different sides of the Atlantic ocean with QBT’s Distributed Symmetric Key Establishment (DSKE) platform, and securely transmitted data over fibre managed by KDDI subsidiary Telehouse Canada. 

The demo showed that existing QKD networks – in this instance, one in a Telehouse datacentre in Cambridge, UK, and the other in a Telehouse facility in Toronto, Canada – can be connected using DSKE technology. 

QKD is already deployed in multiple metro networks around the world but, according to Toshiba, “extending this level of protection across continents has remained challenging due to the absence of ultra-long-distance fibre QKD systems and the limited availability of satellite-based QKD services.”

While geographically separated QKD networks can be connected using post-quantum cryptography (PQC) technology, Toshiba notes they “rely on computational security assumptions that could change as new technologies emerge.”

QBT’s DSKE offers an alternative approach, as it uses “symmetric cryptography, secret sharing, and pre-shared entropy to establish keys without relying on public-key infrastructure. Because it is inherently resistant to quantum attacks, DSKE enables long-haul links that maintain the same level of provable security as QKD networks,” stated Toshiba. 

“By leveraging carrier-grade infrastructure and emerging interoperability standards, the project represents an important step toward practical, global-scale communication that remains secure even in the era of quantum computing,” explained Toshiba Europe. 

The vendor noted that a key feature of the deployment is the use of emerging interoperability specifications developed by ETSI’s QKD Industry Specification Group (QKD ISG). “The network adopted the latest draft of the ETSI GS QKD 020 Interoperable Key Management Specification, enabling standardised communication between key-management software in QKD systems and DSKE platforms. This approach highlights the potential for multi-vendor interoperability in future quantum-safe networking environments,” according to Toshiba. 

Andrew Shields, head of Toshiba’s Quantum Technology Division, stated: “This demonstration shows how quantum key distribution networks can be extended beyond metropolitan distances while preserving the same level of provable security. By combining high-speed QKD networks with DSKE technology and emerging interoperability standards, we are taking an important step toward practical global communication infrastructure that remains secure in the quantum computing era.”

Further technical details about the demo are available in this technical paper.

Toshiba is one of the leading players in the quantum-safe communications sector and has previously shown that quantum-safe communications can be conducted over existing telecom networks using standard fibre optic cable at normal room temperature – see Toshiba brings quantum comms to the telecom network.

It was also a key technology partner for BT’s launch of the UK telco’s commercial quantum-safe networking service offering in 2022 and was named as a key tech partner for a service launched by Orange Business in France last year. 

- Ray Le Maistre, Editorial Director, TelecomTV