World-leading quantum network to be launched in China’s Hubei Province

Almaty. November 2. Silkroadnews - The world’s most advanced quantum communication network will be launched in China’s Hubei Province, China Daily reported.
“Wuhan, Hubei province, launched the world’s most advanced civilian quantum communication network, and will soon connect all the city’s government bodies, financial institutions and other entities to allow the secure transmission of classified information,” the report said. China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp (CASIC) is said to be the major builder of the network. The company mainly develops and produces missiles and carrier rockets, but also invests heavily in laser technologies and instruments that are key components of the quantum communication network.
According to CASIC, the network will ensure “absolute safety” for transmission of classified information and will boost the efficiency of such communications.
“Quantum communication systems feature ultra-high security. It is theoretically impossible to wiretap, intercept or crack information transmitted through them, according to research findings,” the publication reads.
Wu Xiaofeng, a senior manager at CASIC, responsible for the project, said that Beijing and Shanghai; Hefei, Anhui Province; and Jinan, Shandong Province, have already begun trial use of intra-city quantum communication networks, but the system in Wuhan is the largest and most advanced civilian network in the world.
He also added, the Wuhan network will also have more users than its predecessors, and that it will begin to function in full by the end of this year. After this, the system will be extended to eight cities surrounding Wuhan.
Reportedly, China has been allocating considerable resources to develop quantum technologies, trying to be at the forefront of one of the most important fields of science and technology. Thus, at the end of September, the world’s longest quantum communication network Beijing-Shanghai, with a length of 2,000 kilometers, was put into operation, mainly securing quantum data transfer between the government and military authorities in Beijing and financial institutions in Shanghai. The network works in conjunction with the world’s first experimental quantum satellite launched by China last August to test quantum communication theories.
The agency says, CASIC is working with the University of Science and Technology of China in the construction of a 300-kilometer quantum line of communication Wuhan-Hefei. The new communication network will be put into operation in 2018, and then will be connected to the Beijing-Shanghai network.