by Supantha Mukherjee
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – Telefonica (NYSE: ) Germany and Amazon (NASDAQ: ) Web Services (AWS) are working on a pilot to test quantum technology in the telecom operator’s mobile network, executives of the two companies said.
AWS and Telefonica will look to calculate the optimal placement of mobile towers, find ways to secure the network with quantum encryption, and use the information to improve 6G networks.
Big tech firms are trying to build machines that use quantum mechanics to deliver faster speeds than conventional silicon-based computers.
Researchers are divided on when quantum computers will arrive, but they are expected to be powerful and able to crack the codes that protect almost all modern communications.
“If you wait until quantum computing exists, it’s too late. “You have to start working now with prototypes,” Antia Lamas-Linares, principal applied scientist at AWS, told Reuters in an interview.
“We are creating the necessary conditions today to use quantum technology and its opportunities in our network,” said Mallik Rao, Chief Technology & Information Officer at O2 Telefonica, also known as Telefonica Germany.
Earlier this year, Telefonica Germany announced plans to move one million of its 5G customers to the AWS cloud.
“It’s working well from an operational point of view,” Rao told Reuters, adding: “We will move another million customers in the next six months … we have guidance to move at least three to four million customers in the next 12 to 18 months”.
