Written evidence submitted by Chris Erven (QUA0044)

For the Quantum Comms Mission, there’s nothing for specific short or medium term goals. It talks about 2035. But there’s plenty of stuff we can do before that and if we don’t we’ll be beaten by other countries long before 2035. Government tasked BT with doing a feasibility study for a quantum-safe network in the UK over the winter. They produced a great plan that could start as early as late 2024/early 2025. It would connect up something like 7 of the major cities in the UK to start. The estimates for the CapEx were only something like £22.6m. The recently funded Quantum Network SBRI Systems and Components contracts would feed directly into this supplying much of the equipment needed. The UK should commit to do this in their Quantum Comms Mission. We have a good plan. It gives concrete steps leading up to a full quantum network in 2035. Moreover, it enables the huge quantum-safe market opportunity now in the UK, while also giving us lots of experience throwing photons down fibres as we build to the full quantum internet.

19 December 2023