Quantum Security, Quantum Networks

Deutsche Telekom Coordinates EuroQCI Build Across Europe

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July 14, 2026 by Ivy Delaney

Deutsche Telekom has been selected by the European Commission to coordinate the build of EuroQCI, placing the telecom in a strategically important position for this continent-wide infrastructure project. Complementing this effort, the AIT Austrian Institute of Technology will coordinate HarmoniQCI, focusing on standardization and interoperability to establish a foundation for future quantum networks. These initiatives build upon the initial PETRUS project, now advanced by PETRUS 2, and will specifically prepare for large-scale quantum communication deployments funded by the Connecting Europe Facility and IRIS2 programmes. “With PETRUS 2, Deutsche Telekom is taking on a central coordination role to help align national and European quantum communication initiatives,” said Daniela Theisinger, Managing Director, Deutsche Telekom Global Business Belgium & France, as the two projects aim to deliver secure, sovereign, and scalable quantum infrastructures across Europe.

The project’s scope includes stakeholder engagement and translating advanced technologies into deployable network solutions, anticipating future EuroQCI deployments. HarmoniQCI, coordinated by AIT, addresses critical challenges surrounding standardization and interoperability of quantum communication infrastructures across Europe. This project aims to foster coherent technical approaches and alignment with European standardization policies, establishing what AIT describes as a proactive anticipation of future work on components for quantum networks. “Quantum communication will become a cornerstone of Europe’s secure digital infrastructure,” said Andreas Kugi, Scientific Director, AIT Austrian Institute of Technology. The collaborative efforts of Deutsche Telekom and AIT, extending from projects like PETRUS and NOSTRADAMUS, combine operational leadership and network integration capabilities with deep scientific expertise in quantum optics and quantum key distribution (QKD). To ensure synergy, PETRUS2 and HarmoniQCI will utilize structured collaboration mechanisms, including joint workshops and coordinated stakeholder engagement, contributing to European roadmaps and policy discussions. Together, these Coordination and Support Actions (CSAs) aim to provide a comprehensive framework for Europe’s quantum communication ambitions, fostering secure, sovereign, and scalable infrastructures.

With PETRUS 2 , Deutsche Telekom is taking on a central coordination role to help align national and European quantum communication initiatives, translate advanced technologies into deployable network solutions, and prepare the ground for future large-scale EuroQCI deployments.

Daniela Theisinger, Managing Director, Deutsche Telekom Global Business Belgium & France

HarmoniQCI and AIT Focus on Quantum Communication Standardization & Interoperability

While Deutsche Telekom spearheads the build of EuroQCI through the PETRUS 2 project, AIT focuses on the foundational work necessary for a cohesive and scalable quantum network across the continent, anticipating future needs beyond network deployment. This proactive approach extends to manufacturing and supply chain readiness, recognizing that a robust industrial base is essential for sustained innovation and security. HarmoniQCI will specifically support the development of common frameworks and alignment with existing European standardization policies, a crucial step for seamless integration of diverse quantum technologies. PETRUS 2 and HarmoniQCI are designed to operate synergistically, coordinating stakeholder engagement and contributions to European roadmaps, ensuring a unified vision for quantum communication. This coordinated effort is not simply about technical compatibility; it’s about establishing a foundation for future certification and anticipating the components needed for increasingly sophisticated quantum networks.

AIT, Austria’s largest non-university research organization, brings its specialization in applied research and technology development to bear, conducting work in digital safety and security, energy, and mobility, all contributing to a holistic approach to secure communication. Deutsche Telekom and AIT will establish joint workshops and aligned contributions to policy discussions, solidifying a comprehensive support framework for Europe’s ambitious quantum communication goals, ultimately contributing to secure, sovereign, and scalable infrastructures.

Quantum communication will become a cornerstone of Europe’s secure digital infrastructure. With HarmoniQCI, AIT will help align technologies, developing relevant standards, and stakeholders across Europe to enable a coherent and trusted EuroQCI ecosystem.

Andreas Kugi, Scientific Director, AIT Austrian Institute of Technology
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Ivy Delaney

Ivy Delaney has been working with neural networks and machine learning since the mid-nineties, back when a couple of hidden layers and a long afternoon of training counted as ambitious. She has watched the field go from academic curiosity to the thing quietly running underneath everything, and she brings that long view to quantum computing. For Quantum Zeitgeist she covers the ground where the two fields meet. That means quantum machine learning and the variational algorithms it leans on, and it also means the less glamorous but more interesting story of classical machine learning already doing real work inside quantum machines, decoding error-correcting codes, calibrating noisy hardware and learning the error models that simulators depend on. She writes about the hardware those algorithms have to run on too, and about the post-quantum cryptography scramble that the same hardware has set off. Her stories typically start with the paper, whether that is peer-reviewed work, conference proceedings or an arXiv preprint, with the source linked so you can hold a claim up against the research it came from. She is unimpressed by benchmarks that will not say what they beat, and by demonstrations that only work in the press release.

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