GRNET, the coordinator of the HellasQCI project that builds the National Quantum Communication infrastructure of Greece as part of the pan-european initiative EuroQCI, is proud to share the co-authored paper officially accepted for oral presentation at the European Conference on Optical Communications (ECOC 2024), between 22/9 – 26/9 2024 in Frankfurt, Germany.

The paper highlights the successful demonstration of a fully-managed, field-deployed, three-node Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) ring network. This network includes Layer 1 encryption (physical layer encryption) connecting GRNET’s and NKUA’s DC nodes, covering a maximum distance of 45 kilometres.

The network employs a hybrid scheme of QKD and classical yet quantum-safe centrally-generated symmetric keys to support point-to-point and relay consumers. In case of an attack or unavailability of quantum keys, the network’s capability to seamlessly transition to classical encryption with symmetric quantum-safe keys, exhibits a reliable hybrid network operation and ensures the continuous supply of keys.

Amongst the authors, there is an esteemed list of contributors from GRNET, including Dr. Ilias Papastamatiou, Dr. Ognjen Prnjat, Kostas Koumantaros, and Prof. Dimitris Mitropoulos and from NKUA, including Nikolas Makris, Dr. Konstantinos Tsimvrakidis, Alkinoos Papageorgopoulos, Persefoni Konteli,  Prof. Kostas Christodoulopoulos, Prof. George T. Kanellos, Prof. Dimitris Syvridis.

This work was co-funded by the HellasQCI project (GA 101091504).

GRNET and HellasQCI project are shaping the future of quantum-safe communications in Greece, ensuring the protection of critical information and the security of sensitive data.