Are you ready for quantum computing?
As we reach the midpoint of the second decade of the 21st century, general talk and discussion of emerging quantum computing seems to be the stuff of science fiction, perhaps crowded out by AI expectations. But no more, even as the United Nations has declared 2025 to be the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology.
Perhaps mirroring its quantum state, quantum computing is simultaneously closer to reality than many think, but several years from mainstream commercial use. Today, many marketers sometimes use the phrase or words “quantum computing” in conjunction with high-speed computing or transactions. But apart from techspeak and brand association, there indeed exists a new era of revolutionizing technology in development.
What can we expect? While the current focus of industry-changing technology rightly concerns AI advancements, quantum computing will likely make its initial commercial foray in perhaps five or so years, becoming operational reality in the next 12 to 15 years. With that kind of timeframe, why should we pay any attention to quantum computing now?
(This content, authored by Cullen McCarty, CEO of Smithville Telecom, also appeared on Inside Indiana Business)
Global technology companies like Microsoft, IBM and Google are presently investing hundreds of millions of dollars in research and development. As technology leaders know, quantum computing holds the promise of resetting the speed and processing horsepower of computing by several orders of magnitude. Google’s Sycamore quantum processor first demonstrated the astonishing power of this emerging technology back in 2019, when it completed a complex computation in 200 seconds that would have taken the then-fastest classical computer an estimated 10,000 years to accomplish.
And that’s just for starters. Today, IBM’S Quantum Experience, Google’s Quantum AI, and Microsoft’s Azure Quantum serve up experimental platforms where you can develop and run trials of quantum algorithms on actual nascent quantum hardware.
Like other companies in our field, we at Smithville watch this development closely, because quantum computing will ultimately require significant upgrades in specialty fiber to become fully operational. A whole new type of infrastructure will eventually support such marvelously fast and deep computing systems.
Why will this be necessary in the decades ahead? Standard fiberoptics strategically serves existing computer systems and serves extremely well, allowing connectivity over 100s of gigabit (1,000 megabits) options that range across a wide spectrum. Generally speaking, the vast majority of very large data transfers and even your personal streaming options work well here, even when such use soaks up millions of gigabits across American networks. Data on today’s fiber networks are often carried by photons.
But when quantum computing enters the scene, all the parameters can change dramatically. Classical computing uses bits to process information in binary code (zeros and ones). Quantum computing uses quantum bits, called qubits, whose nature dramatically differs from standard binary code.
As the name suggests, quantum computing engages principles of quantum mechanics. At the quantum level, things are quite different in terms of how these qubits behave as compared to standard binary computing (like entangled states, a highly complex condition).
The point? Future quantum communications will demand extremely high bandwidth and low signal loss. Specialty fiber with micro-structured cores exist, but planning for production and deployment will take years.
Indiana is staking out a leadership position for this type of advanced fiber connectivity, working initially through a public-private partnership called Quantum Corridor. Funded in part through a $4 million grant from Indiana’s READI program, Quantum Corridor is fashioning a highly specialized network that can carry up to the equivalent of forty terabits per second. That’s big news for research universities like Purdue and Indiana University, as well as the Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) Crane Division in southern Indiana.
What’s the immediate future mean for you? Standard fiberoptics in America is finally beginning to reach its potential to serve Americans with high-speed connectivity nearly everywhere. Smithville has long been bringing high-speed fiber to both urban and rural areas, and current fiber networks will elevate quality of life and business at the speed of light for many years to come.
The good news is that while current fiber networks like Smithville’s will continue to advance American business and lifestyle, sufficient time exists for careful planning and consideration for a new revolution in computing. Meaningful commercial quantum computing is years away, but now is the time to start.
As the year of quantum technology unfolds, a new generation of innovation is on deck, one where Indiana can be a leader. Public-private collaboration in conjunction with Hoosier businesses and academic depth can help capture Indiana’s share.
Cullen McCarty is a fifth-generation CEO with Smithville, an Indiana technology company that has been innovating for 102 years.
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