As security and resiliency rise to the top of global infrastructure priorities, operators and vendors are turning to quantum-driven tools to protect timing, synchronization, and data integrity in an increasingly AI-fueled world.
A recent field trial led by Aquark Technologies marks a key milestone: Its GNSS-independent, cold-atom timing system has been successfully deployed in live telecom infrastructure, offering protection against satellite disruptions and signal spoofing. That work just earned further backing from Innovate UK, which awarded Aquark a £1.4 million (€1.6 million) contract to advance deployable quantum timing solutions for telecom and other critical sectors.
Beyond precision, quantum timing also strengthens security. Traditional networks rely on GPS and other satellite signals for synchronization — links that can be jammed, spoofed, or taken offline. Quantum-based clocks, by contrast, maintain ultra-stable timing independent of GNSS, safeguarding networks against disruption and ensuring continuity across critical systems. In an era where microseconds can determine service reliability or financial integrity, quantum timing delivers both precision and protection.
And the quantum story is only widening as we look to 5G-Advanced, where emerging capabilities such as quantum-safe cryptography, edge-based quantum sensing, and hybrid quantum-classical computing promise to enhance utility and telecom networks alike.
Further evidence that securing infrastructure against next-generation threats is becoming a strategic priority comes from Cycurion, Inc., which has secured a $1 million contract from a major — and unnamed — U.S. telecom provider to modernize federal networks at more than 1,300 sites nationwide. The multi-year project replaces aging infrastructure with a next-generation communications network designed to enhance emergency warning capabilities.
From cold-atom clocks to post-quantum encryption, telecom’s quantum moment is arriving fast. The challenge now isn’t whether to adopt it, but how to scale it securely, and how to do so before adversaries do.
Catherine Sbeglia Nin
Managing Editor
RCR Wireless News
RCR Top Stories
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