CaliToday (13/10/2025): In a landmark achievement that bridges the gap between quantum physics and our daily digital lives, researchers in the United States have successfully teleported the quantum state of a photon across a public fiber optic internet network for the first time. The experiment marks a critical milestone in the quest to build a functional and scalable quantum internet.
The breakthrough, detailed in the journal Optica (Vol. 11, 2024), was led by researcher Jordan M. Thomas and his colleagues. In their experiment, quantum information encoded in a single particle of light was transmitted over more than 30 kilometers (approximately 18 miles) of standard fiber optic cable the same infrastructure that currently delivers high-speed internet and streaming services to homes and businesses. Crucially, the fragile quantum data traveled simultaneously with a conventional internet data stream on the very same fiber without being corrupted.
Quantum teleportation is not the stuff of science fiction's teleportation pods. Instead of moving a physical particle, the process transfers the precise quantum properties of that particle its exact state onto another particle at a distant location. This instantaneously "recreates" the particle's quantum identity at the destination while the original is destroyed, a fundamental principle of quantum mechanics.
"The biggest challenge has always been whether the delicate quantum signals could survive in the 'noisy' environment of a conventional network," explained a spokesperson for the research team. "Standard internet traffic is like a loud highway, while a quantum signal is like a whisper. We had to prove the whisper could be heard."
The team achieved this by developing novel methods to shield the quantum signals from interference. This included precisely positioning and timing the photons to minimize scattering and data loss caused by the coexisting classical data traffic.
The study’s most significant implication is proving that a future quantum internet may not require an entirely new, dedicated infrastructure. By demonstrating that quantum and classical data can coexist, this research suggests we can leverage the trillions of dollars already invested in the global fiber optic network. This could dramatically accelerate the development of technologies for unhackable communication, powerful distributed quantum computing, and hyper-sensitive scientific instruments.
