Quantum Internet Proves Real-World Feasibility Across 38 Miles of Fiber

NIST researchers transmitted polarization-entangled photons across 62 kilometers (38.5 miles) of existing, above-ground fiber in real-world conditions, maintaining entanglement despite environmental noise by using a laser reference to calibrate corrections. The setup operated with 200–1,500 entangled photons per second, showing feasibility for practical quantum networks and potential uses in quantum-secure communications and distributed telescopes, though faster hardware and better software are needed for a full quantum internet.