SEOUL, February 03 (AJP) - South Korean telecom operator KT said Tuesday it has developed a quantum key distribution (QKD) device capable of generating 300,000 encryption keys per second, or 300 kilobits per second (kbps).
The system is designed to prevent eavesdropping on physical communication lines by using quantum-mechanical properties that make encryption keys impossible to copy with current technology, the company said.
KT previously developed a 150 kbps system in 2024 and has more than doubled the key-generation speed in about 18 months.
"The new device represents the fastest QKD system built using domestic technology and delivers performance comparable to leading global manufacturers," the company said in a press release. "If deployed on commercial networks, the system could supply quantum keys to more than 70,000 encryption devices within a minute."
Quantum key distribution systems operate using single photons, the smallest units of light energy. Because quantum states are highly sensitive and can collapse when light is dispersed or scattered, transmission errors can increase sharply.
KT said it developed a proprietary filtering and system technology that reduces errors while boosting key-generation speed.
The company said technical verification was completed late last year in collaboration with South Korean organizations involved in quantum cryptography development and certification, including the Telecommunications Technology Association, the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute, and the National Information Society Agency.
KT also conducted joint verification with a research team led by Professor Heo Jun at Korea University’s Communications and Information Systems Laboratory.
KT said it plans to further enhance system reliability by improving its ability to generate and detect quantum states at precise timing intervals, enabling more stable performance. The technology is expected to play a key role in the development of the future quantum internet, a next-generation communications network.
“KT will help expand South Korea’s quantum industry ecosystem through continued development and technology transfer of our quantum communications technologies,” said Lee Jong-sik, head of KT’s Network Research Institute.
* This article, published by Aju Business Daily, was translated by AI and edited by AJP.
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