Re: For the smart guys/girls/what-have-you here: "Towards a European quantum internet"

On 11/1/2024 1:24 AM, Carlos E.R. wrote:

If photons at a distance are entangled, what is the optical fibre needed for? I must be missing something.

Otherwise, only the two "endpoints" would be connected; the fiber(s) lets
it become a LAN at *each* end (so multiple devices can share the "quantum
bridge" between the two endpoints.
Imagine a microwave link between two locations.  How would you augment
that to allow more than two hosts (one at each end) to communicate?
The entangled photons represent a secure link "across space".  It's
as if the two ends were colocated (unlike a microwave link -- or any
other medium -- that could be snooped).  The fibers let other devices
exploit that security (as long as the *local* deployments take steps
to preserve THEIR security).