Moving from Research to Readiness: what the NATO and Quantum Internet Alliance announcements this week say about the direction of quantum communications

Every time I write an article about quantum technology, my favourite and least favourite bits are the same. My favourite bit is looking through all the recent announcements in the quantum tech space (it’s a cool aspect of my job that I get to take time in a week just to look at stories about quantum innovation, and movements in the field more generally!). On the other hand, my least favourite bit is choosing which of those stories to then focus down onto in my article. Which has the best take-home message? Which story can I tell in a concise but engaging fashion? Which is the one that people will want to hear about the most? And, perhaps above all, which is the one I think is most interesting?

This week was no different, as I found myself struggling to decide between two stories that had stood out from the previous days (at the time of writing this on 2 October 2026): NATO’s announcement of a quantum technology roadmap on 29 September; and a €47.5 million commitment made by the European Union to the Quantum Internet Alliance (QIA) a day later.

On reflection though, I think that there are some broad underlying takeaways from both of these stories about quantum technology generally, and quantum communication technology in particular, warranting a discussion of both.

Since writing the above, that decision has felt at least partly validated by the publication of my colleague Amelia’s excellent analysis of the NATO roadmap: "From Strategy to Capability: What NATO's New Quantum Technology Roadmap Means in Practice". Her article explores in greater detail what the announcement means in practice, and so is a nice complementary read (for those who haven’t already) to the more holistic picture I’m developing here.

NATO’s quantum technology roadmap (securing today’s networks)

NATO's interest in quantum technology is far from new. Indeed, one of the stated aims of the newly published roadmap is to build upon the quantum strategy adopted by the Alliance in 2023, which described broad strategic ambitions of the time. But compared with the relatively long-term and aspirational aims of the 2023 strategy, the 2026 roadmap sets out more concrete implementation activities and milestones across three principal technology areas (those being quantum computing, quantum communication and quantum sensing), organised under five ‘Lines of Effort’ covering use cases, testing and adoption, standardisation and interoperability, protection against quantum risks, and training and education. Collectively, these workstreams set out how NATO intends to progress from strategic planning towards the practical deployment of quantum technologies over the coming years.

But of the roadmap's various objectives, those relating to communications infrastructure best characterise the roadmap for me. These include the target of establishing a quantum-resilient communications pilot between Brussels and Mons by 2027, alongside broader activity relating to quantum communications, standards and post-quantum protection.

The key point is that the roadmap does not treat communications resilience as a single-technology problem. Instead, it reflects an understanding that future secure communications will depend upon the successful integration of multiple technologies, standards and operational frameworks across an alliance comprising numerous nations and organisations. It is also worth keeping in mind that the question being addressed here is not whether individual quantum or post-quantum technologies work, but how they can be combined to create secure, interoperable and deployable communications networks. In this respect, the roadmap is less about demonstrating new quantum science and more about preparing real-world communications systems for the realities of the quantum era (a point I’ll come back to below).

The EU’s backing for the QIA (building tomorrow’s networks)

While NATO's roadmap focuses on securing and enhancing communications infrastructure that exists today, the European Union's €47.5 million commitment to the Quantum Internet Alliance focuses on creating communications infrastructure that may exist tomorrow.

The 42-month programme will seek to develop a programmable full-stack quantum-network prototype. Of course, quantum networking research has already demonstrated or developed a remarkable range of component technologies, including quantum processors, quantum memories, entanglement-distribution systems and experimental quantum-repeater architectures. Increasingly, however, the challenge extends beyond the development of individual components to understanding how those components can operate together as part of a coherent network architecture.

This is precisely where the emphasis on a "full-stack" approach becomes significant. The programme extends beyond individual advances and seeks to integrate hardware, software and networking technologies into a programmable system, while addressing interoperability, quantum-network applications and preparations for future pilot and open-access facilities. One of its headline objectives is to connect metropolitan quantum networks over long-distance fibre links using quantum repeaters, while also laying foundations for open-access facilities and future pilot environments.

In many respects, the programme resembles the transition seen in classical networking decades ago: moving from demonstrations of individual technologies towards the creation of complete systems. Rather than asking whether quantum networking components can work, the programme is increasingly concerned with how they can be connected, coordinated and ultimately deployed.

Why talk about both?

At first glance, these announcements may appear to have little in common. One is a defence and security roadmap, while the other is a research and infrastructure programme. Even in the communication area where they most clearly overlap, one places particular emphasis on protecting networks that already exist (classical networks), while the other concerns building networks that broadly do not (quantum networks). However, look closer at both announcements, and certain common takeaways emerge.  

First, both reflect a holistic approach to quantum technology that is increasingly being seen across the field. Neither announcement focuses on a single device, algorithm or breakthrough. Instead, both recognise that meaningful quantum capability will depend upon the successful integration of numerous different technologies, standards, software layers, and operational frameworks. There is also the fact that both announcements come from important international bodies that are promoting cooperation between numerous stakeholders across different borders, reflecting the seriousness with which quantum technology is taken today.

Perhaps more importantly than the above, though, both announcements are fundamentally about quantum readiness, rather than quantum research. Granted, the exact form of that readiness may differ, with NATO focusing on operational and security readiness and the QIA focusing on technological and infrastructure readiness. Nevertheless, both organisations are placing specific milestones and timelines around the transition from research towards integrated prototypes, trials and, ultimately, deployment.

This is the key takeaway here for me. For many years, discussions surrounding quantum communications were dominated by theory. Increasingly, however, the challenge appears to be shifting towards implementation. How the technologies resulting from years of lab-based development can be integrated, standardised, operated and deployed in real-world environments.

Conclusion

Of course, it can’t be forgotten that both announcements are describing future ambitions rather than completed outcomes. NATO's roadmap contains milestones that remain to be achieved, while the Quantum Internet Alliance's programme has only just begun. So whether these objectives are ultimately realised remains to be seen.

Nevertheless, I do think that these stories provide yet further evidence of a growing confidence among governments, international organisations and industrial bodies that quantum technology is ready for real-world implementation on large scales. The next phase of progress will not be defined solely by new laboratory records or demonstrations of individual technologies. Instead, it may increasingly be characterised by the, often less glamorous and newsworthy, task of taking the small and numerous steps towards assembling those technologies into complete systems that can be deployed and operated across borders.