Developing the quantum Internet is a complex and challenging engineering task. The foundations have already been laid for this emerging technology. The use of fiber optic networks is growing. Eventually it may be possible to communicate quantum information over long distances using small satellites. We will all soon be able to take advantage of the quantum information superhighway.
Due to modern quantum networks being very bulky and requiring expensive equipment to operate, the technology has not yet reached mass market adoption.
Researchers from England, Austria, Croatia, and China have bypassed these restrictions. A network for eight users was constructed, who could securely exchange information with each other. A quantum system of this type costs only $400,000, while earlier quantum systems cost millions. A quantum network of this type can accommodate 17 users at a distance of 17 kilometers.
A simulation of the network with 32 participants was also performed. It appears that the development can be scaled up with ease. Mainly, modern fiber optic cables are not available in cities due to a lack of adequate infrastructure. It is estimated that the lack of infrastructure will delay the spread of quantum Internet for about a decade, with connections in large cities taking another five to ten years.
However, many successful experiments have already been conducted with quantum networks.
A quantum computer built by Chinese scientists, named Jiuzhang, solved the problem of sampling Gaussian bosons within a few minutes. A classical supercomputer would take about 2.5 billion years to solve such a problem.
Further, scientists at Fermilab, the National Laboratory of the US Department of Energy's Office of Science, and their collaborators have teleported qubits into two different systems: the Caltech Quantum Network (CQNET) and the Fermilab Quantum Network (FQNET). "We are very happy with the results," said Fermilab scientist Panagiotis Spentsouris, one of the authors of the study. In his words, the experiment represents an important step toward developing technologies "that will change the way global communication is approached."
The most cynical scientists are beginning to acknowledge the new super capabilities of quantum computers - phenomenal computing speed, the materialization of objects, and the instantaneous movement of living and inanimate objects throughout space.