Colt Technology Services and Ciena have successfully completed a test transfer of quantum-stable data between New York and London. The traffic was transmitted over 6,900 km of underwater and overland lines at 800 Gbps using the Ciena WaveLogic 6 Extreme platform. The test confirmed that high-speed communications could be protected from future quantum threats without loss of performance, and optical performance remained stable throughout the route.

The need for such tests stems from the growing threat of "collect now, decrypt later" attacks, when intruders intercept and preserve encrypted data for future hacking. Experts warn that powerful quantum computers capable of compromising current algorithms may be available by 2030. According to surveys, 69% of organizations already consider quantum computing a real threat to existing encryption methods.

After successful testing, Colt announced its readiness to offer commercial protection models to customers, including post-quantum cryptography, quantum key allocation and hybrid schemes. Services focused on fintech, health care, public sector and data center owners. Recall that in November 2024 companies already conducted joint tests, transmitting data at a rate of 1.2 Tbit/s across the Atlantic, and in June OQC, JPMorganChase and AMD launched a research program in London based on the dedicated Quantum-AI data center for financial sector tasks.