The Quantum Internet Just Got Its First Real Nodes

On January 14, 2026, a team at QuTech in Delft achieved something that will be in physics textbooks for the next century: sustained, on-demand quantum entanglement between three nodes connected by 50 kilometers of standard telecom fiber, maintained for over 72 hours without interruption.

This isn’t a lab curiosity. It’s the first functioning segment of what will eventually become the quantum internet.

What Is the Quantum Internet?

The quantum internet is a network that uses quantum mechanical effects — specifically entanglement and superposition — to transmit information in ways that are fundamentally impossible with classical networks.

The killer feature is security. A quantum-encrypted message cannot be intercepted without detection. Not “difficult to intercept.” Not “computationally expensive to crack.” Physically, provably impossible. This isn’t an encryption algorithm that might be broken by a future computer. It’s a law of physics.

But security is just the beginning. A quantum internet also enables:

• Distributed quantum computing: Linking quantum processors across distances to create virtual supercomputers
• Quantum sensor networks: Connecting ultra-precise sensors for applications in navigation, geology, and medical imaging
• Blind quantum computing: Running computations on a remote quantum computer without the operator knowing what you’re computing

The QuTech Breakthrough

What makes the Delft demonstration significant isn’t just that it worked — quantum teleportation has been demonstrated before — but that it worked reliably, at room temperature (for the fiber; the nodes still need cooling), using existing telecom infrastructure.

Previous quantum networking experiments required exotic fiber, laboratory conditions, and operated for minutes at a time. The Delft network runs on standard fiber that carries regular internet traffic. It’s been up for weeks. The entanglement fidelity — a measure of how “good” the quantum connection is — exceeds 97%.

The team achieved this through a breakthrough in quantum repeater design. Quantum signals degrade over distance (you can’t amplify them without destroying the quantum state), so you need repeaters — devices that extend the range by creating chains of entanglement. QuTech’s nitrogen-vacancy diamond repeaters operate at higher temperatures and with longer coherence times than any previous design.

The Race Is On

QuTech’s success has ignited an infrastructure race comparable to the early days of the classical internet.

China has been investing heavily in quantum networking for years and operates the world’s longest quantum key distribution link (Beijing-Shanghai, 2,000 km via satellite). But China’s approach uses “trusted nodes” — classical relays that temporarily decrypt and re-encrypt the signal — which is less secure than true quantum repeaters. The Delft demonstration leapfrogs this approach.

The United States has the DOE’s Quantum Internet Blueprint and significant research efforts at Argonne, Brookhaven, and Fermilab. Awning, a startup spun out of Harvard, is building commercial quantum networking hardware and has raised $185M in Series B funding.

The European Union has committed €1.2 billion through the Quantum Internet Alliance, with QuTech as the coordinating institution. The goal: a pan-European quantum network connecting major cities by 2030.

Japan is building a quantum networking testbed linking Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya, leveraging NTT’s existing fiber infrastructure.

When Does It Matter?

The honest answer: not yet for most people. The quantum internet’s first applications will be narrow and high-value:

2026-2028: Government and military communications. Diplomatic links. Central bank transactions. Anywhere that the cost of compromised communications justifies the expense of quantum infrastructure.

2028-2030: Financial services. High-frequency trading firms and banks begin deploying quantum-secured networks. Healthcare systems use quantum links for patient data.

2030-2033: Enterprise adoption. Major cloud providers offer quantum-secured connections. Distributed quantum computing becomes commercially available.

2033+: Consumer applications begin to emerge. Quantum-secured messaging. Quantum-enhanced GPS. Applications we haven’t imagined yet.

The Classical Internet Isn’t Going Anywhere

It’s important to note that the quantum internet won’t replace the classical internet. It will run alongside it, handling specific tasks where quantum properties provide an advantage. You’ll still stream Netflix over classical TCP/IP. But your bank might verify your identity over a quantum channel.

Think of it like the relationship between roads and rail. Both are transportation infrastructure. Both coexist. Each is better for different things.

The Bigger Picture

The quantum internet represents something profound: humanity building infrastructure based on the most counterintuitive aspects of physics. Entanglement — Einstein’s “spooky action at a distance” — is becoming an engineering tool.

Every major technological revolution has been preceded by an infrastructure revolution. Railroads enabled industrialization. The telegraph enabled global commerce. The internet enabled the information economy. The quantum internet may enable something we can’t yet name.

The first three nodes are online in Delft. The rest of the world is watching — and building.