Dublin tests quantum-secure communications

Dublin City Council has hosted Ireland’s first Government Use Case for quantum-secure communications, trialling advanced encryption technology designed to protect public services against future cyber threats.

The demonstration forms part of the IrelandQCI programme, a €10 million initiative to build a national quantum communication infrastructure. Co-funded by the European Commission and the Irish Government’s Department of Culture, Communications and Sport, the project contributes to the wider EuroQCI effort to deploy secure quantum communications across Europe.

The test involved deploying quantum communication systems across Dublin City Council’s existing municipal fibre network, creating a highly secure connection between two strategic council locations.

Delivered through the Smart Docklands programme, a joint initiative between the Council and the CONNECT Centre, the trial assessed how quantum-based security performs in a live operational setting.

“A robust, reliable and future-proof communications network is fundamental to delivering smarter, responsive and secure public services,” said Jamie Cudden, Executive Manager, Dublin City Council. “This initiative was delivered through our Telecoms Innovation programme and Smart Docklands to explore the future of communications infrastructure. We are delighted to be able to support this forward-looking partnership.”

During the trial, the IrelandQCI consortium combined quantum key distribution with next-generation classical encryption methods, creating multiple layers of protection for sensitive information travelling across the network. The demonstration showed that quantum-secure technology can operate reliably under everyday conditions using existing public fibre infrastructure.

IrelandQCI brings together six national universities alongside industry partners ESB Telecoms and Asiera. The consortium is developing quantum key distribution infrastructure along a backbone network connecting Dublin to Cork via Waterford, integrating emerging quantum technologies with existing fibre systems to strengthen resilience against evolving cyber threats.

Dr Deirdre Kilbane, IrelandQCI Project Lead and Director of Research at Walton Institute, South East Technological University, said: “This is an exciting advancement for the IrelandQCI project, which has the ultimate aim of deploying a long-range quantum communication network between Dublin and Waterford, and on to Cork. We intend to work with further government and industry end users, bringing the benefits of quantum communication technologies to wider Irish society.”

Image: Paul Sharp/SHARPPIX