GENEVA — November, 2016. ID Quantique SA (IDQ), the world leader in commercially available quantum-safe crypto solutions, has expanded to the United Kingdom with the opening of a new office. IDQ’s UK presence will make the company’s best-of-breed technology available to a new market. It will also allow IDQ to provide research and development expertise in support of the Quantum Communications Hub (QComm Hub), part of the UK’s National Quantum Technologies Programme. IDQ will collaborate with the QComm Hub, supporting R&D and building networks.
The UK’s Quantum Technologies Programme (UKNQTP) is a £300m 5-year initiative, built around four Hubs – one of which is the QComm Hub: a partnership of eight UK universities, the private sector (including BT) and the public sector, e.g. the National Physical Laboratory (the UK’s National Measurement Institute) and the National Dark Fibre Infrastructure Service.
IDQ has already provided Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) equipment for use in Bristol as part of a network being built there by the QComm Hub. It has also recently won the contract to provide a quantum-secure link between the BT labs at Adastral Park and Cambridge. Here, IDQ will be collaborating closely with BT, Cambridge and York Universities within the QComm Hub. Quantum Cryptography – or QKD – in combination with conventional encryption solutions, provide secure, quantum-safe encryption which is not vulnerable to threats from future quantum computers.
“Quantum communication has, up to now, struggled to overcome the challenges of real life long-distance environments with multiplexed data,” said Grégoire Ribordy, CEO of IDQ. “Opening a new office and working with the QComm Hub allows IDQ to bring our technology into a new working environment. Working in the UK gives us the chance to collaborate with world-class researchers on new uses and applications for this technology.”
Tim Spiller, Professor of Quantum Information Technologies at the University of York, and Director of the QComm Hub said, “Working closely with IDQ enables us to collaborate with the company that has unique experience in the development, sale and support of QKD systems to clients across the public and private sectors, from governments to corporates. This experience is invaluable as we push to extend the reach of quantum secure communications across sectors and markets, within – and beyond – the UK.”
The UK National Quantum Technologies Programme aims to ensure the successful transition of quantum technologies from laboratory to industry. The programme is delivered by EPSRC, Innovate UK, BIS, NPL, GCHQ, DSTL and the KTN.
Dr. Richard Murray, Lead Technologist of Emerging Technologies and Industries at Innovate UK, said: “As the country’s innovation agency, Innovate UK’s mission includes bringing forward-looking technology to our companies, markets and people. IDQ’s decision to establish a presence in the UK is an example of the impact that the UK’s investment in quantum technologies is having on the market: attracting dynamic companies that wish to work with our world class research and industrial leadership in quantum communications.”
The opening of the UK office comes in conjunction with expansion to additional countries worldwide and CEO Gregoire Ribordy’s recent election to European Commission Quantum Flagship Project. IDQ’s new office, Ribordy’s appointment, and the company’s participation in QComm Hub reflects IDQ’s long-standing commitment to and leadership in the supply of commercial quantum communications systems for the real world, and its ambitions to play a leading role in strategic developments globally.
About ID Quantique
Founded in 2001 as a spin-off of the Group of Applied Physics of the University of Geneva, ID Quantique is the world leader in quantum-safe crypto solutions, designed to protect data for the future. The company provides quantum-safe network encryption, secure quantum key generation and Quantum Key Distribution solutions and services to the financial industry, enterprises and government organizations globally. IDQ’s Quantum Random Number Generator has been validated according to global standards and independent agencies, and is the reference in highly regulated and mission critical industries – such as security, encryption and online gaming – where trust is paramount.
IDQ’s products are used by government, enterprise and academic customers in more than 60 countries and on every continent. As a privately held Swiss company focused on sustainable growth, IDQ is proud of its independence and neutrality, and believes in establishing long-term and trusted relationships with its customers and partners. For more information, please visit http://www.idquantique.com/.
About the UK National Quantum Technologies Programme (UKNQTP)
see http://uknqt.epsrc.ac.uk/.
About the UKNQTP’s Quantum Communications Hub,
see https://www.quantumcommshub.net/
About Innovate UK
Innovate UK is the UK’s innovation agency. Its mission is to boost productivity, increase exports and help the UK economy grow head and shoulders above other nations. For further information, see www.gov.uk/innovateuk.
About BT
BT’s purpose is to use the power of communications to make a better world. It is one of the world’s leading providers of communications services and solutions, serving customers in 180 countries. Its principal activities include the provision of networked IT services globally; local, national and international telecommunications services to its customers for use at home, at work and on the move; broadband, TV and internet products and services; and converged fixed-mobile products and services. BT consists of six customer-facing lines of business: Consumer, EE, Business and Public Sector, Global Services, Wholesale and Ventures, and Openreach.
For the year ended 31 March 2016, BT Group’s reported revenue was £19,042m with reported profit before taxation of £3,029m.
British Telecommunications plc (BT) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BT Group plc and encompasses virtually all businesses and assets of the BT Group. BT Group plc is listed on stock exchanges in London and New York.
For more information, visit www.btplc.com
