3 hrs ago
India demonstrates first 5.56-km free-space quantum communication link
Three Indian organizations tested a way to send secret keys through open air using quantum technology.
Their test connected BISAG-N and IIT Gandhinagar across 5.56 kilometres.
The system kept its error rate below 5 per cent.
It created between 230 and 260 secure key bits each second.
The team used those keys with BISAG-N’s Vedic Kavach platform.
Together, the systems successfully encrypted and decrypted test messages.
The setup combines a hardware-based quantum link with software designed to resist attacks from future quantum computers.
The organizers said the demonstration is a step toward longer-distance and satellite-based secure communication.
QNu Labs, BISAG-N and IIT Gandhinagar demonstrated India’s first free-space Quantum Key Distribution link over 5.56 km.
The field trial established a secure communication channel between BISAG-N and IIT Gandhinagar.
The link maintained a Quantum Bit Error Rate below 5 per cent and generated keys at 230–260 bits per second.
The QKD-generated keys were integrated with BISAG-N’s Vedic Kavach platform to encrypt and decrypt test messages.
The organizers said the trial could support longer-distance networks and future satellite-based quantum communication.
- Who
- QNu Labs, BISAG-N and IIT Gandhinagar
- What
- They demonstrated a 5.56-km free-space Quantum Key Distribution link and used its keys to secure test messages.
- Where
- Between BISAG-N and IIT Gandhinagar in Gujarat, India.
- When
- Saturday; the article does not specify a date.
- Why
- To advance secure communication infrastructure and develop resilience against emerging quantum-era security threats.
Potential benefits
Limitations and next steps
Readiness for wider deployment
Potential benefits
The organizers described the trial as a foundation for practical quantum-resilient communication and longer-distance networks.
Limitations and next steps
The reported demonstration covered 5.56 km; the article presents longer-distance and satellite-based links as future possibilities, not completed deployments.
Key facts
- Link distance
- 5.56 km
- Quantum Bit Error Rate
- Below 5 per cent
- Secure key generation rate
- 230–260 bits per second
- QKD hardware
- Armos, operating over free-space optical channels
- Integrated platform
- BISAG-N’s Vedic Kavach, using post-quantum cryptography and quantum random number generation
- Demonstrated outcome
- End-to-end encryption and decryption of test messages
- Potential next steps
- Longer-distance quantum-secure networks and satellite-based quantum communication
Sources
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