Doha, May 31 (QNA) - Ooredoo Qatar announced the establishment of the first quantum-safe communications link in the State of Qatar, in collaboration with Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU) and the Ministry of Defense, as part of a joint national achievement.

In a statement Sunday, the company affirmed that this first-of-its-kind achievement in the region, which reinforces Qatar's position at the forefront of quantum-secure communications, represents a significant milestone in the country's journey toward the next generation of cybersecurity.

It added that through Quantum Key Distribution (QKD), the project delivers a fully operational, end-to-end quantum-safe link that generates and distributes encryption keys using the principles of quantum mechanics.

Unlike traditional encryption, this approach introduces a new class of security and immediately detects any attempt to intercept the communication.

The project was deployed within Ooredoo Qatar's operational network, building on advanced research led by HBKU in collaboration with ID Quantique (IDQ), a global leader in quantum-safe security, to develop a Quantum Key Distribution testbed compatible with existing telecommunications infrastructure.

Chief Strategy and Digital Transformation Officer at Ooredoo Qatar, Thani Ali Al Malki, affirmed that this achievement reflects the power of collaboration in advancing secure, future-ready connectivity in the State of Qatar. By enabling the deployment of quantum-safe technologies within operational networks, it will support the evolution of cybersecurity capabilities that will underpin the next generation of digital infrastructure.

For his part, Mohammed Al Zaidan, Senior Director Active & Core Network at Ooredoo Qatar, said that the project was implemented using Ooredoo's state-of-the-art dark fiber infrastructure.

Al Zaidan added that the engineering teams successfully validated secure key generation and distribution over multiple fiber-link distances, marking an important step toward networks protected by information-theoretic security.

He expressed the company's pride in announcing the successful implementation of the Quantum Key Distribution project in collaboration with Hamad Bin Khalifa University's Qatar Center for Quantum Computing and the Ministry of Defense.

Meanwhile, Director of HBKU's Qatar Center for Quantum Computing, Dr. Saif Al Kuwari, said that the center's commitment to collaboration across government, academia, and industry makes it a natural partner for this initiative.

He added that cooperation with Ooredoo Qatar and the Ministry of Defense has accelerated the development of Qatar's quantum capabilities, with the partners working together to create technologies with both national and global applications.

For his part, Commander of Qatar Emiri Signal Corps, Maj. Gen. Zayed Ahmed Al Kuwari, said this achievement is the outgrowth of cooperation and an ambitious vision to build an advanced and secure digital infrastructure that contributes to supporting cybersecurity and enhancing Qatar's digital resilience through secure communication technologies that keep pace with modern developments and anticipate future challenges.

Against a backdrop of increasingly sophisticated cyber threats, this achievement represents a meaningful advancement in strengthening Qatar's digital resilience and reflects the strength of national collaboration across the telecommunications, research, and defense sectors.

Ooredoo Qatar enabled the deployment of the technology within a live telecom environment, demonstrating the practical integration and readiness of quantum-safe networking capabilities.

In essence, HBKU led the scientific development and system integration, contributing to the advancement of local expertise in quantum technologies, while the Ministry of Defense supported the initiative as a strategic stakeholder, reinforcing the importance of secure communications for national priorities. (QNA)