According to media reports, China is optimistic over its launch of the world's longest quantum communication by 2016. The network would be available from Beijing to Shanghai. The communication network would be based on the industry's most secure encryption technology and would be extended worldwide by 2030.

The plan to launch the network will make China the first country to outline efforts and the time frame to put the technology into large-scale use. Mr. Pan Jianwei, professor at the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), said China is making significant advancements at a very good pace in the field of quantum information science and technology.

It is believed that quantum communication technology cannot be hacked as any attempt to intercept the encryption triggers an alteration in the physical forms of the quantum data, thereby alerting the system about the attempt.

IBM scientists have proposed the technology in the 1980s, but it has been limited to only short distances so far. The International Conference on Quantum Communication, Measurement and Computing was told by Mr. Pan that China's quantum network for Asia to Europe would be available for use as early as 2020. It will become global by 2030.

Completion of the main infrastructure for the network would take place between the end of the year and the middle of next year, said Mr. Chen Yuxiang, the chief engineer for the construction of the Beijing-Shanghai link.

China is also working on its plans to put up the world's first quantum communication satellite in 2016. "The technology of metropolitan quantum communication is basically mature, but if we want to achieve worldwide communication, we need the help of satellites", said Pan, who won the International Quantum Communication Award in 2012. Japan, Europe and Canada are also looking forward to launch their quantum communication satellite projects in near future.

West Texas News, 2014-11-5, http://wtexas.com/content/1411848-china-exudes-confidence-over-longest-quantum-network-launch