The main goal of the NaQCI.fi project is to test and gain experience on QKD technology both for metropolitan and long-distance links in Finland. Short-range metropolitan links will be the natural starting point from a technical, logistic, and cost point of view but reaching a good level of experience with long-distance links will be key to the future deployment of the actual national QCI backbone. Testing activities will cover not only QKD devices, but also their integration with classical security components part of traditional communication networks. The target is thus to reach the technical knowledge, practical experience and know-how to build-up and maintain the first experimental QKD networks for public and governmental use and to demonstrate first pilot use cases on both types of links.
The main goals of the project are:
- to achieve hands-on experience how to deploy,maintain, and use QKD systems in the existing optical networks and to train a large number of people how to do so
- to learn how to integrate the same QKD systems in the existing cybersecurity infrastructure
- work side by side with EU-27 providers, to test how their devices perform on our national fibre networks, and give them feedback about the specific needs of the Finnish QCI
- identify and demonstrate the use of the deployed experimental links for example applications
- share learning experiences with other EU-27 countries and to be always in contact with the overall EuroQCI Coordination and Support Action (CSA) to align our activities to present and future guidelines
- plan the next steps, including the cross-border links with neighbouring countries Estonia and Sweden as well as the possible future implementation of satellite links
- disseminate the results and communicate the importance of the EuroQCI among all relevant stakeholders