Qatar Opens Quantum-Safe Telecoms Link Arabian Post

Ooredoo Qatar said the achievement supports the country's digital resilience agenda and creates a foundation for quantum-secure networks. The work builds on research led by HBKU's Qatar Centre for Quantum Computing, with technical collaboration involving ID Quantique, a Switzerland-based specialist in quantum-safe security systems.

The link is based on a Quantum Key Distribution testbed compatible with existing telecoms infrastructure. It uses photon-based key distribution to establish protected links between sites, enabling encryption keys to be exchanged in a way that exposes attempts at eavesdropping. The deployment was carried over Ooredoo's dark fibre infrastructure, giving engineers a controlled environment to validate secure key generation and transmission across multiple fibre distances.

Thani Ali Al Malki, Ooredoo Qatar's chief strategy and digital transformation officer, said the project showed the value of collaboration in building secure, future-ready connectivity. The company sees quantum-safe systems as part of the next phase of cybersecurity, especially as governments and large enterprises prepare for risks linked to powerful quantum computers.

Mohammed Al Zaidan, senior director for active and core network at Ooredoo Qatar, said engineering teams had successfully validated secure key distribution across different link distances. The result marks a step towards networks protected by information-theoretic security, a term used for systems whose security depends on physics rather than only on mathematical complexity.

HBKU's role reflects Qatar's effort to build domestic research capability in quantum technologies. Dr Saif Al Kuwari, director of the Qatar Centre for Quantum Computing, has positioned the centre as a bridge between government, academia and industry. The centre focuses on quantum communication, quantum computing and quantum sensing, with an emphasis on applications that can be tested in real-world systems.

The Ministry of Defence's participation gives the project a strategic dimension. Quantum-safe communications are increasingly seen as essential for protecting high-value information from“harvest now, decrypt later” attacks, where adversaries collect encrypted data today and wait for future computing advances to break it. Defence, energy, banking, aviation, telecoms and government services are among the sectors most exposed to that long-term risk.

Qatar's move comes as governments and technology companies accelerate work on post-quantum security. The global cybersecurity sector is preparing for a transition from classical cryptographic methods to systems that can withstand quantum-era threats. Two broad approaches are emerging: post-quantum cryptography, which relies on new algorithms, and Quantum Key Distribution, which uses quantum physics to secure key exchange. Many future networks are expected to combine both.

The project also builds on Ooredoo's earlier support for HBKU's quantum communication programme. Ooredoo committed QR2.8 million to support the development of Qatar's first quantum communication testbed, a research platform intended to advance secure communications and prepare the ground for wider quantum network applications.

For Qatar, the link strengthens a wider national technology agenda that includes cloud computing, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and advanced research. The country has been investing in digital infrastructure as part of its economic diversification strategy, while universities and public institutions have been working to expand local expertise in high-performance computing and quantum science.