Quantum & Post-Quantum Networking

Evann Freeman, Director of Government Relations at EPB, discusses how the Chattanooga municipal utility launched the first commercially available quantum network in the U.S. in 2023, partnering with the Department of Energy and Qubitekk to enable industry, academia, and government to test quantum technologies on a live network.

Lukas Pietrzak, Director of Public Policy for the Fiber Broadband Association, discusses how fiber infrastructure serves as the foundational fabric enabling AI, quantum computing, and advanced technologies while delivering the speed, latency, and reliability needed across all communities.

Stephan Rettenberger, SVP of Marketing and Corporate Communications at Adtran discusses AI's continued industry dominance constrained by power consumption; digital sovereignty and security advances including post-quantum cryptography; and service providers evolving beyond infrastructure into digital platforms.

Gary Bolton, President and CEO of the Fiber Broadband Association, predicts that 2026 will see record fiber deployment driven by private investment and BEAD program funding, while quantum networking becomes critical as "Q Day" threats accelerate the need for enhanced encryption security.

Sameh Yamany, CTO & Chief AI Officer at VIAVI, discusses convergence of networks, security, AI, photonics, and sensing that will fundamentally change how the industry designs, deploys, and tests infrastructure. He forecasts how high speed data center networking, AI-enabled cybersecurity threats, and use of AI in RAN will have implications on testing needs this coming year.

Marc Bouteyre, Head of Virtualization at Ekinops, discusses the company's acquisition of Chimere, a universal ZTNA solution that strengthens its SASE portfolio and market position. He also highlights Ekinops' optical portfolio advancements in quantum-resistant networks.

Roland Thienpont, Director of IP Division Product Marketing at Nokia, presents data center interconnection with automation capabilities using modular architectures. He discusses the network journey from data centers to wide area networks, featuring AI agents for network operations, DDoS protection, and quantum-safe networks.

Adtran’s Stephan Rettenberger joined Converge Digest’s Jim Carroll for a 31-minute deep-dive into next-gen optical infrastructure while riding through San Francisco in a Waymo robotaxi.

Larry Lunetta, VP of Product Marketing at Hewlett Packard Enterprise, outlines the company's security-first networking strategy that integrates AI and autonomous systems to enhance network management. Drawing from a vast data lake of customer telemetry, HPE's AI solutions reduce troubleshooting time by 75% while implementing advanced security features like post-quantum cryptography and Zero Trust Network Access.

Gary Bolton, President of Fiber Broadband Association, Jaimie Lenderman, Research Manager at Omdia, and Jeff Heynen, Vice President at Dell'Oro Group, led discussions at Fiber Connect 2025 in Nashville, where the event celebrated graduating over 1,000 fiber optic technicians and showcased industry advancements. The conference highlighted the industry's dedication to expansion through AI and quantum networking solutions, while setting the stage for its 2026 edition in Orlando.

Tracy Doaks, President and CEO of MCNC, manages 4,500 miles of middle mile fiber infrastructure that connects educational and healthcare facilities throughout North Carolina. Under her leadership, MCNC focuses on protected connectivity through cyber practices while preparing their network for emerging technologies like AI and quantum computing.

Juan Rodriguez, Senior Sales Engineer at DriveNets, shared insights on how AI and quantum computing will shape networking's future, while advising service providers on segment routing implementation and vendor relationships.

Cyril Chouviat, Sales Manager at Lanner Electronics, presented their Intel Granite Rapids solution. Through partnerships with Sparkle and ARQIT, Lanner Electronics is expanding its network solutions portfolio while implementing secure encryption for European cable connections.

Wim Henderickx, CTO IP Division at Nokia, discusses major industry trends including Quantum technology, Optical IP growth, and AI-driven networking advancements. His insights highlight the progression toward autonomous networks, comparing them to self-driving vehicles.

Ettore Pulieri, Product Manager at Sparkle, showcases the company's new Quantum Safe over Internet service, featuring network-as-a-service capabilities developed with key industry partners. The solution enables quantum-safe network deployment through standardized APIs.

Peter Vetter, President of Bell Labs Core Research at Nokia, showcases Bell Labs' century of achievements in modern technology, from transistors and cellular networks to Unix and neural networks. He outlines how Bell Labs maintains its innovative spirit through current work in AI, quantum technology, and space communication, including a lunar-orbiting network.

Lesya Dymyd, Business Development Lead at CESQ, discusses the company's work on creating a quantum hub in France's Grand Est region with partners across France, Germany, and Switzerland to become a center of excellence for quantum and hybrid computing. She highlights CESQ's focus on combining high-performance computing with quantum applications and announces their upcoming quantum week event in France, while expressing interest in collaborating with the Open Compute Project's quantum and hybrid working group.

Adtran’s Stephan Rettenberger joined Converge Digest’s Jim Carroll for a 31-minute deep-dive into next-gen optical infrastructure while riding through San Francisco in a Waymo robotaxi.

Matt Swinden, MD Digital Connectivity at BT Business, discusses emerging technology trends including quantum encryption, AI-driven network optimization, and the convergence of wireless access with satellite technologies.

PacketLight's CEO Koby Reshef anticipates the rise of specialized AI cloud providers in 2025, offering GPU-on-demand services and requiring networks to support higher data rates up to 1.6T wavelengths. He emphasizes the need for enhanced security measures like layer-one encryption and quantum key distribution to safeguard AI operations while maintaining network performance.

MetTel CTO Ed Fox explains how AI integration enhances SD-WAN operations and application control, while highlighting the innovation of combining satellite connectivity with SD-WAN solutions. He also emphasizes the importance of encryption and decentralized identity management for addressing quantum computing threats and securing distributed applications.

David B. Kiddoo, Executive Director / CEO of CCCA and IWCS, explains his organizations' sponsorship of the Ethernet Alliance conference that brings together decision makers from Meta, Microsoft, and Hewlett Packard to address Ethernet for AI and the convergence of power and data supporting AI and quantum computing infrastructure. The conference enables the interconnect and network infrastructure industry to learn directly from technology providers about required innovations, necessary codes and standards, and how to allocate limited resources effectively to advance AI and quantum computing technologies.

David Kettle, VP OEM and Channels at Arqit, discusses the increasing threat quantum computers pose to current encryption methods, highlighting recent breakthroughs by Chinese academics in breaking RSA codes. Kettle emphasizes the urgent need for implementing quantum-safe post-quantum cryptography solutions in the network.

Ettore Pulieri, Product Manager at Sparkle, introduces Quantum Safe over Internet, a new product offering ultra-secure connectivity between customer sites, PoPs, or to the cloud. The service combines post-quantum security with networking technologies, allowing customers to configure and manage their ultra-secure protection through an online portal.

Antonella Sanguineti, Head of Product Management Secure Cloud & Networking Solutions at Sparkle, discusses the company's Quantum Safe over Internet product, an on-demand service designed to protect against quantum computer attacks on network security.

Ray Mota, CEO and Principal Analyst at ACG Research, discussed the growing interest in quantum computing for security, increasing focus on segment routing, AI infrastructure, and Ethernet vs Infiniband.

Heidi Adams, Head of Global Marketing for IP/Optical Networks at Nokia, discusses quantum safe networking and the use of AI in networking, along with the ongoing significance of DDoS protection.

Diego Lopez, Senior Technology Expert at Telefónica, discusses SDN, SRv6, and AI as key trends. He also predicts AI and SDN convergence with Quantum mechanisms in the next 5-6 years.

At OFC 2024, Gilles Garcia, Senior Director at AMD, discussed two major industry trends: the significance of 800G and the growing need for layered security in transport networks. AMD showcased their 800G FPGA-based solution and three types of security measures, including a post-quantum crypto capable system.

Ljuban Kasikovic, SE for Optical, IP, SDN and DC at Nokia, discusses their quantum-safe photonic key creation system that enhances Nokia's existing encryption system, and is being used by vendors in banking, healthcare, and government sectors across Europe, Asia, and North America.

Santanu Ganguly, an advisor with Quantum communication startup Qoro, predicts significant growth in the Quantum Networking sector. Ganguly anticipates increased adoption of Quantum Key Distribution (QKD, strong development in Quantum communication network layer, and increased adoption of Quantum sensing, positioning, navigation, and timing systems.

Evann Freeman, Director of Government Relations at EPB, revealed the company's plan to construct the first commercially available quantum network in the U.S, a move inspired by a McKinsey study forecasting quantum to be a $106 billion industry by the decade's end. The network, which could potentially revolutionize technology and create generational wealth, is designed to stimulate private investment and growth, enhance national security, and benefit businesses and industries in the Chattanooga area, with the potential for nationwide replication.

Lesya Dymyd, Chair of the Future Technology Symposium at the Open Compute Project, highlighted future technologies presented by startups, R&D organizations, and academic researchers. The 2023 edition featured five technological tracks, live demos and poster sessions. The next event will next take place in Lisbon, Portugal, on April 24 and 25th, 2024.

Networking infrastructure is sure to evolve quickly during the 2020s. Kazuhiro Gomi, CEO of NTT Research, introduces the Innovative Optical & Wireless Network (IOWN), a new vision for an all-photonic core network enhanced by quantum technology and breakthroughs in privacy and security.