China's Xinhua News Agency on Tuesday launched a new global network dedicated to the secure and efficient transmission of financial information based on quantum communication technology.
The network, jointly developed by Xinhua and the Anhui-based University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), was inaugurated at the Beijing-based Financial Information Exchange, a financial service platform owned by Xinhua.
Quantum communication is a new type of communication based on the quantum properties of particles such as photons. It has become a new research field in quantum physics and information theory studies in recent years.
Experts say conventional technology, such as wireless networking, faces more difficulties in guaranteeing information security in the future.
Core financial information requires extremely high security during transmission, storage, and processing. Therefore, the application of secure and efficient quantum communication will prove of strategic importance and enormous economic value.
Xinhua and the USTC have been researching possible applications for quantum communication in financial information security since the first half of 2011, a statement from the Financial Information Exchange said.
As of the end of November 2011, the two sides successfully built the world's first network based on quantum communication technology for application in the financial information industry, the statement said.
It said that the network is capable of supporting confidential audio-visual communication, real-time text transfers and the rapid transmission of data files.
The network's data transfer bandwidth can reach several hundreds of megabits, meeting requirements for most forms of encrypted communication, according to the statement.
The launch of the network has proved the practicality of quantum communication technology, the statement said, adding that the network is also significant for the demonstration, marketing and exploration of quantum communication standards, the statement said.
The Xinhua Financial Information Exchange, launched in late 2010, is an information-sharing platform supporting the financial and cultural sectors.
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