The Quantum Internet Alliance (QIA) received €47.5 million from the European Commission to build a programmable quantum network prototype, with the goal of connecting two metropolitan-scale networks using quantum repeaters.

QIA is a European consortium of universities, research institutes, and companies developing quantum internet hardware and software. Its members include QuTech, Delft Networks, telecom operators TIM and Telefónica, and internet exchange operator AMS-IX.

The funding supports 42 months of research and development under the consortium’s second Specific Grant Agreement. Its first phase, which ran from October 2022 to March 2026, laid the technological foundations by bringing together hardware, software, and networking research.

The next task is to integrate those components into a complete system that can run quantum network applications.

“Our mission in this next phase is to integrate these components into a full stack quantum internet prototype,” said QIA Director Stephanie Wehner.

The program also includes initial preparations for quantum internet pilot facilities and open-access infrastructure for researchers, developers, and companies.

Connecting quantum networks

QIA’s planned prototype will distribute quantum entanglement within metropolitan networks and between them over a long-distance backbone. Its processing nodes are intended to execute quantum protocols beyond quantum key distribution, extending the project’s scope beyond establishing encryption keys.

Quantum repeaters are central to that backbone. QIA is developing systems to distribute entanglement over long distances, including approaches using quantum memories. Those memories, like classical compute memory, need sufficient storage time, efficiency, and capacity to support network operation.

Metropolitan networks will also include hubs that connect multiple processing nodes and share access to the backbone. Photonic client devices are intended to let users access network services with limited quantum hardware of their own.

The full-stack approach extends to software. QIA is developing a quantum node stack to control resources and run applications at individual nodes, alongside a control plane coordinating entanglement generation across the network. The goal is to provide programmable interfaces while managing how applications share the underlying quantum resources.

From components to integrated systems

The project forms part of QIA’s seven-year program to connect distant cities, launched under a partnership agreement with the European Commission in 2022. Earlier work focused on developing the essential subsystems, including repeaters, end nodes, and a quantum network stack.

Other quantum networking efforts have also begun combining hardware with automated network control. In February, Cisco and Qunnect demonstrated a system integrating Qunnect’s entanglement sources with Cisco’s orchestration software over deployed New York City telecom fiber. The trial included entanglement swapping and automated control and synchronization across network nodes.

Separately, Delft Networks, a QIA member, and Eurofiber have deployed a dark-fiber loop between Delft and Rotterdam to support testing of entanglement distribution between quantum memories over metropolitan distances. The infrastructure is intended to assess performance, stability, and scalability over deployed telecom fiber. The deployment received funding support from QDNL Delft’s Regional Quantum Program.

QIA’s planned demonstration aims to show that separate metropolitan quantum networks can be interconnected through a repeater-based backbone, a step toward extending quantum networking between cities.