Indiana public-private partnership Quantum Corridor completed testing and proved commercialization of the fastest, most secure fiberoptic network in the Western Hemisphere with a historic transmission on Oct. 24. The transmission between the Chicago ORD 10 Data Center and the Digital Crossroads data center in Hammond, Ind., occurred more than two months ahead of schedule. With connectivity speeds more than 1,000 times faster than traditional fiber networksi, the Indiana-based quantum communication network today directly connects Indiana to the international internet superhub in downtown Chicago.
“This technology opens West Lafayette, Indianapolis, Bloomington and all Indiana-based military installations to the fiber backbone in Chicago with complete security,” said Ryan Lafler, Chief Technology Officer, Quantum Corridor. “The nearly instantaneous computing and communications capabilities will position Indiana and the Chicago region as one of the most quantum-capable regions in the world and will draw additional research funding.”
Using multi-national tech partners Ciena, Juniper and Converge One— and in a public-private partnership through the state of Indiana’s READI Grant and the Indiana Department of Transportation’s Indiana Toll Road— Quantum Corridor has created previously impossible connectivity opportunities for corporate, defense and instructional platforms across the Indiana and the entire country. This is accomplished through its combination of speed, throughput, and low latency:
“There are applications we can’t even fathom yet in quantum research and development, life sciences, quantum computing, quantum networking and quantum commercialization,” said Thomas P. Dakich, Chief Executive Officer, Quantum Corridor. “We are already fielding questions from space exploration ventures, AI entrepreneurs and e-commerce hyperscalers who are eager to use our network to support their work.”
Formed in 2021 as a public-private partnership with the state of Indiana, Quantum Corridor, Inc., was designed to tie Indiana data center developers and tech innovators to Chicago nearly instantaneously. Quantum Corridor received funding through a $4.0M grant from the state of Indiana’s READI Grant program and with the cooperation of the Indiana Department of Transportation and the Northwest Indiana Forum.
“Hammond Mayor Tom McDermott, Purdue University Northwest Chancellor Tom Keon and Associate Vice Chancellor Matt Wells have been important advocates from the start,” Dakich said.
Quantum networking requires fiberoptic cable to transmit at near instantaneous speed, but hardware and installation are cost prohibitive. Through funding and partnerships across the state, Quantum Corridor will have the ability to utilize 263 miles of new and existing fiber beneath the Indiana Toll Road to link data centers, quantum research facilities, life sciences and genome scientists and hyperscalers with industry-shattering speeds and throughput.
“Ciena’s 6500 Reconfigurable Line System (RLS) and WaveLogic 5 Extreme coherent optics drive the network,” Lafler said. “Equipped with Ciena and Juniper trained engineers, the partnership of Ciena and C1 brought the network to life two months early and has been an invaluable extension of Quantum Corridor’s engineering arm.”
“Because of this use of the READI grant, all of Indiana, including each of our universities, military installations, life science initiatives and technology sectors, may have a competitive advantage,” said Heather Ennis, President and CEO, Northwest Indiana Forum. “The commercialization of quantum research is required for each of these industries and, because of Gov. Holcomb’s leadership and the commitment of the Indiana legislature in the creation and funding of the READI grant program, Indiana will now have a seat at the table for major national quantum commercialization possibilities.”
