“Quantum internet” is no longer just a futuristic label used in conference talks. By 2026, several research groups and public programmes are running real testbeds over deployed fibre and, in Europe, preparing hybrid terrestrial–satellite infrastructure designed specifically for quantum-secure communications. The key shift is that teams are moving from single, lab-grade demonstrations to repeatable networking functions: synchronised nodes, software-controlled entanglement distribution, and early building blocks of quantum repeaters. This article focuses only on concrete initiatives with publicly described pilots, hardware work, or funded roll-outs that are active heading into 2026.
Europe in 2026: EuroQCI moves from “strategy” to funded national deployments
Europe’s flagship effort is the European Quantum Communication Infrastructure (EuroQCI). What makes it credible in 2026 is not the slogan, but the fact that the programme has moved into coordinated procurement and deployment steps across Member States, with a clear split between a terrestrial segment (fibre-based quantum links) and a space segment designed to extend coverage and resilience. In practical terms, EuroQCI is built as a pan-European system rather than a single research prototype, and its architecture is meant to connect national infrastructures into one interoperable framework.
A clear marker of “real-world progress” is the transition from planning documents to funded calls and deployment programmes. In 2025, EU funding mechanisms connected to EuroQCI attracted a large number of national and cross-border proposals, signalling that countries were already preparing concrete infrastructure work and integration plans. This is exactly the stage that typically precedes procurement, pilot installation, and operational testing, which continue into 2026.
EuroQCI is designed to be hybrid by construction. Its space component is intended to extend secure coverage beyond what fibre alone can support, including hard-to-reach areas and cross-border connections where terrestrial routes are limited. For 2026, this hybrid model matters because it defines how Europe expects to scale quantum-secure communications beyond local metropolitan links and turn them into a continent-wide system.
What EuroQCI is testing in practice (and what it is not)
EuroQCI is often misunderstood as “a quantum internet that carries general traffic”. That is not the 2026 reality. Its short- and medium-term focus is quantum-secure communication, especially quantum key distribution and supporting infrastructure that can integrate with existing security systems. This includes governance models, technical interoperability, secure deployment requirements, and operational management — the parts that decide whether the infrastructure can run reliably outside a laboratory.
The satellite component adds a specific benefit: quantum-secure links beyond the reach of terrestrial fibre. This is not only about distance, but also about resilience and independence from single-route fibre vulnerabilities. In practice, it allows secure connections between separated regions where fibre routing is limited or where redundancy is strategically important.
Another important detail is that EuroQCI is not a single technology bet. Different national programmes can deploy different equipment and approaches, as long as they can interoperate and meet agreed requirements. In 2026, this matters because it enables countries to build networks with local industry and existing telecom infrastructure, while still aligning with common European goals and technical standards.
Metropolitan quantum links: the Netherlands shows what “deployed fibre” looks like
The Netherlands remains one of the clearest examples of quantum networking stepping outside the lab. One of the most cited milestones is a metropolitan-scale connection between quantum nodes over deployed fibre between Delft and The Hague, reaching distances of around 25 km. The important point is not only the distance, but that the work was carried out over real-world fibre infrastructure, where networks must cope with environmental noise, telecom coexistence constraints, and operational limitations.
This type of experiment matters because metropolitan networks expose the real bottlenecks that future systems must handle: fibre drift caused by temperature changes, calibration stability, maintenance interruptions, and the need for repeatable synchronisation routines. In a lab, engineers can tightly control conditions; in a city, the network must function in a living environment with unavoidable variation.
By 2026, the Dutch ecosystem is not only about hardware demonstrations. It is increasingly built around the idea of a network stack: quantum links as resources that can be requested, scheduled, and managed through software, rather than one-off physics experiments. This shift is essential for scaling to multi-node networks where routing, timing, and resource allocation become central engineering challenges.
Software becomes the missing piece: QNodeOS and operational control
Once quantum links exist outside the lab, software becomes the critical glue. A major step in this direction has been the development of QNodeOS, described as an operating system designed specifically for quantum networks. The significance is practical: network testbeds need a standardised way to run applications, coordinate timing between nodes, manage entanglement requests, and provide predictable interfaces for higher-level protocols.
In classical networking history, large-scale adoption happened only after the boundary between hardware and applications became stable. Quantum networking is facing the same challenge in 2026. Nodes can be built on different qubit technologies, yet the network still needs common control logic: how entanglement is requested, how results are verified, what happens when resources are unavailable, and how failures are reported.
That is why metropolitan testbeds increasingly talk about protocol stacks and operational control rather than only photon counts or lab performance figures. By 2026, the Netherlands is important not simply because it demonstrated a link, but because it contributes to the engineering layer that will determine whether future quantum networks become programmable, scalable systems rather than isolated demonstrations.
United States testbeds in 2026: DOE-backed networks and live fibre experiments
In the United States, the most tangible quantum internet progress comes from national-lab and university-linked testbeds that are funded or coordinated through major federal initiatives. A notable example is the Illinois Express Quantum Network, associated with Fermilab, which has been described as a multi-node network concept linking laboratory infrastructure with university sites and future partner nodes. The presence of defined nodes and planned connections is one of the clearest signs that quantum networking in the US is treated as infrastructure building, not only as academic research.
These efforts sit inside multi-year quantum research centres that provide long-term continuity. That continuity matters because quantum networking requires long engineering cycles: hardware iteration, field deployment, cross-team integration, and repeated validation under real operating conditions. In 2026, the US landscape is largely shaped by these coordinated centres and their capacity to maintain large-scale testbeds over many years.
Other US projects focus on engineering challenges such as converting quantum signals into formats suitable for long-distance fibre transmission. Work at major research sites includes testing systems where devices at the ends of fibre links can interface with quantum hardware and support longer-distance networking objectives. In practical terms, these are experiments that attempt to bridge laboratory quantum devices with telecom infrastructure.
Where the US is heading next: multi-node operation and “live testbed” culture
One of the strongest signs of real progress is when fibre becomes a shared resource used by many teams rather than a single-purpose experiment. In the US, some initiatives are turning existing telecom fibre into multi-user testbeds that connect labs, industry partners, and data centres. This is important because it accelerates iteration: different groups can test protocols, devices, and operational approaches on the same infrastructure, which is how networking technology usually matures.
In addition, several testbeds are experimenting with network techniques that go beyond simple point-to-point links. For example, some projects are working on entanglement swapping across multiple nodes, which is widely considered a key building block for future scalable quantum repeaters. While this does not yet mean a “global quantum internet”, it does indicate that engineering work is moving toward the mechanisms that could support longer-distance and more complex networks.
By 2026, the US quantum networking landscape can be understood as a combination of complementary approaches: some programmes focus on metropolitan-scale links and infrastructure deployment, while others focus on repeater-like functions and software-controlled networking layers. None of these efforts are consumer-ready networks — but they are genuine prototypes with real fibre routes, defined nodes, and measurable results that can be independently assessed.
