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govindhtech · 5 days ago
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Medium Earth Orbit Satellites For Global Quantum Internet
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Recent studies have highlighted how crucial Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) satellites are to the ambitious goal of a global quantum internet with capabilities beyond regular telecommunications. These satellites will disperse entanglement over large distances, bridging geographic gaps where terrestrial fibre optic networks are limited. Quantum network integration into urban fibre infrastructure, like Berlin's BearlinQ, supports this global effort. These activities lay the groundwork for a truly interconnected quantum future.
Medium Earth Orbit Strategic Advantage
Long-distance quantum network setup has been problematic. Because optical fibres lose signal, complex quantum repeaters are needed to improve entangled photon range. Satellite-based systems have a larger reach but are limited by logistical issues, diffraction losses, and atmospheric interference.
Northwestern University, the University of Arizona, and its partners created a hybrid network protocol that benefits from fibre optic and satellite technologies to tackle these challenges. Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) satellites, strategically placed 10,000 kilometres above Earth, are at the heart of this continental-scale system.
This MEO altitude has many advantages:
It links widely distant ground stations better than Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites due to its wider coverage area. Minimised Photon Loss: Most notably, it minimises photon loss significantly compared to GEO satellites. This method maintains sensitive quantum states while providing extensive spatial coverage.
This hybrid system relies on MEO satellites to bridge large distances where fibre optic cable is impractical. For shorter links, the network uses optical fibres with high-fidelity entanglement distribution. This integrated technique improves fidelity and performance over fibre- or satellite-based systems. Using the contiguous US as an example, the scientists showed that this hybrid technique is more stable and scalable than both previous ways for diffusing entanglement over broad areas.
The MEO-integrated network will enhance quantum repeater technology. Quantum information is stored and retransmitted by these repeaters to overcome optical fibre signal loss. Photon repeaters enable entanglement switching, which extends entanglement distribution across great distances, and trapped ions serve as quantum memory.
The researchers painstakingly analysed air extinction and diffraction for satellite communications and signal loss in fibre optic networks to ensure their method is realistic. Distillation was added to enhance efficiency by purifying entangled states, removing noise, and strengthening entanglement for reliable long-distance communication. This careful component balance makes a quantum internet that can enable secure and effective cross-continental communication viable.
BearlinQ: Metropolitan Quantum Network Mastery
Integrating quantum capabilities into urban infrastructure is key to the quantum internet, which complements MEO satellites' global reach. Deutsche Telekom AG and Qunnect Inc. showcased the BearlinQ project, a scalable, real-world quantum networking testbed in Deutsche Telekom's Berlin metropolitan fibres. This project proves hybrid quantum-classical networks can work in cities.
BearlinQ's ability to support quantum communications and bidirectional classical C-band traffic on the same fibres without new connections or infrastructure changes is a major development. This is done with predicted wavelength separation:
The O-band (1324 nm) transmits quantum information. The O-band for low-noise quantum channels decreases spontaneous Raman scattering, a key source of noise, by ensuring that most Raman noise falls outside the quantum detection window. Classical data is mostly sent in the C-band, which has great channel density. Read about quantum entanglement entropy and challenges.
BearlinQ disperses polarization-entangled photon pairs via dynamically chosen fibre cables from 10 meters to 82 kilometres. Polarisation encoding is sensitive to ambient birefringence fluctuations despite being compatible with quantum memories. BearlinQ employs Automatic Polarisation Compensator (APC) technology to monitor and compensate for polarisation drifts to maintain a stable and scattered polarisation reference across all nodes. By time-multiplexing across the same fibres as quantum and conventional communications, this system achieves high entanglement fidelity.
Project results are good:
Over several days, the system maintained Clauser-Horne-Shimony-Holt (CHSH) S-values between 2.36 and 2.74 and entanglement fidelities between 85% and 99% Validating entanglement and allowing quantum applications requires a CHSH S-value greater than 2. The 60km network has near telecom-grade uptime with less than 1.5% downtime, demonstrating outstanding stability for real-world implementation. The Qunnect SRC generates a high rate of photon pairs at normal temperature, acting as the entanglement source and preventing fibre losses without cryogenics or regulated laboratory circumstances. Automated path-switching and polarisation correction provide stable quantum correlations over independent fibre paths without manual changes. Despite -42 dB attenuation over 82 kilometres, the network maintained usable pair rates.
These examples dramatically transform quantum networks from lab conditions to trustworthy, operational infrastructure. By defining operational standards for commercially viable quantum services using quantum photons and classical telecom traffic, the technique drastically lowers the cost and complexity of new fibre deployments.
Bearlin Q-like metropolitan networks and MEO-based global networks show that quantum networks can be integrated with current resources, enabling distributed quantum computing, secure quantum communication, and quantum sensing in urban and possibly global infrastructure.Automated path-switching and polarisation correction provide stable quantum correlations over independent fibre paths without manual changes. Despite -42 dB attenuation over 82 kilometres, the network maintained usable pair rates.
These examples dramatically transform quantum networks from lab conditions to trustworthy, operational infrastructure. By defining operational standards for commercially viable quantum services using quantum photons and classical telecom traffic, the technique drastically lowers the cost and complexity of new fibre deployments. Bearlin Q-like metropolitan networks and MEO-based global networks show that quantum networks can be integrated with current resources, enabling distributed quantum computing, secure quantum communication, and quantum sensing in urban and possibly global infrastructure.
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