The quantum network that EPB and Qubitekk have built in Chattanooga officially opened for business with the news late yesterday that interested parties can now apply to connect to the network.
EPB is the company that boosted the Chattanooga economy by investing over 10 years ago in the nation’s first community-wide gigabit fiber network, thereby attracting entrepreneurs wanting high-speed connectivity. Qubitekk is a developer of quantum network technology, which uses a whole new approach that does not rely on traditional ones-and-zeros laser communications but instead is based on quantum physics and entangled subatomic particles.
Quantum physics may sound like sci-fi but scientists have been studying it since Einstein’s time and developers see it as a means of making networks faster and more secure. The Chattanooga quantum network was deployed using more than 200 existing dark fibers and has 10 interconnected nodes.
“Through this new infrastructure, we are supporting our nation’s efforts to prepare Chattanooga’s workforce and local economy to benefit from this rapidly emerging industry sector,” said EPB President and CEO David Wade in a press release.
Startup companies, Fortune 500 companies and government agencies have told EPB that they could benefit from having access to a resource like the EPB quantum network, Wade noted.
Onsite engineers will monitor more than 300 data points on the quantum network every second, according to the EPB press release. Customers will be able to generate, distribute and measure the entangled particles, known as qubits, EPB said. The customers can use quantum nodes for short terms or have the option of leasing nearby workspace for longer-term use.
“The quantum industry continues to rapidly evolve as new applications continue to be discovered, ranging from accelerating drug development to quantum sensors that can give advanced earthquake warnings, to optimized truck routing that can notably lower greenhouse gas emissions,” said Qubitekk President, Co-founder and CTO Dr. Duncan Earl in the press release.
In an email to Telecompetitor, an EPB spokesperson cited another potential application for quantum network technology — simplifying day-to-day activities. An example of the latter would be “improved map phone apps that could coordinate traffic in real-time to reduce congestion,” the spokesperson said.
The EPB quantum network “is responsive to the diverse needs of quantum innovators, whether customers are running existing applications, testing new quantum technologies or validating equipment performance,” Earl said.
The strength of the network, he said, is that “all customers, no matter their size or sector, can tap into the resources offered by the network to quickly enable their applications and test their quantum products.”
