Quantum Internet Leaves the Lab with First Real-World Entanglement over Busy Telecom Fiber

Quantum internet leaves the lab with first real-world entanglement over busy telecom fiber

Quantum information is notoriously fragile. Internet traffic is anything but. Yet Northwestern University scientists have demonstrated they can peacefully coexist inside the same fiber-optic cable. In a new study, researchers successfully sent entangled photons through a 24.4-kilometer (15.2-mile) fiber-optic cable connecting Evanston and downtown Chicago while the same cable simultaneously carried high-capacity internet traffic. Even […] The po…

Scientific breakthrough brings quantum entanglement to existing telecom networks

In 2024, scientists demonstrated quantum teleportation through a laboratory optical cable carrying high-speed internet traffic. A new study sent entangled photons through a busy fiber-optic cable linking Evanston and downtown Chicago. The quantum signals remained remarkably stable, preserving entanglement with more than 94% fidelity. The results point toward building future quantum networks using existing communications infrastructure rather tha…

Northwestern University’s Kumar Lab Sends Entangled Photons Through Chicago

Northwestern University scientists sent entangled photons through a 24.4-kilometer fiber-optic cable connecting Evanston and downtown Chicago while simultaneously carrying high-capacity internet traffic. The study, published July 20 in Optica Quantum, demonstrates entanglement distribution between remote nodes over a fiber carrying modern commercial telecommunications traffic, preserving entanglement with more than 94 percent fidelity.