Toshiba Europe Wins UK Contract to Build Quantum Network Technology With BT and Colt

The contract was awarded by Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, under its Enabling Commercial Quantum Networking competition, which totals £20 million. The value of Toshiba's share was not disclosed, and no project timeline was published.

The aim is to make quantum networks cheaper and easier to roll out and run. The UK would eventually like to link quantum processors in different data centres so they can work on tasks together, adding to the country's overall computing capacity. That depends on carrying quantum signals over long distances and between many users at a cost operators can justify.

Toshiba Europe said it would build and evaluate subsystems for long-distance quantum links and for networks that serve several users. It also plans to make better use of network resources and to manage connections as the number of users and sites grows. The company said this should improve asset utilisation and reduce capital spending. BT and Colt will validate the work under realistic operating conditions.

"Building quantum networks at scale requires cost-effective subsystems that can be readily integrated into today's data communications infrastructure," said Andrew Shields, vice president of Toshiba Europe and head of its Quantum Technology Division. He said that by working with BT and Colt, the companies "will develop and validate the technology" needed to connect cities and widen access to quantum networking.

Toshiba and BT have worked together on quantum communications for several years. In April 2022 they began a commercial trial of a quantum-secured metro network in London.

The project supports the UK National Quantum Strategy, which aims to deploy advanced quantum networks at scale by 2035 and to lay the groundwork for a future quantum internet.