New Delhi, Oct. 3 -- India has successfully demonstrated its first free-space Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) link over a distance of 5.56 km, marking a step towards building quantum-secure communication networks that could eventually support longer-distance and satellite-based systems.

The field trial was carried out by QNu Labs in collaboration with the Bhaskaracharya National Institute for Space Applications and Geo-informatics (BISAG-N) and IIT Gandhinagar on the night of September 27-28, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology said in a release on Saturday.

The secure quantum communication channel was established between BISAG-N and IIT Gandhinagar using QNu Labs' Pointing, Acquisition and Tracking system.

According ...