Cisco, Qunnect Launch NY Quantum Network

• Architecture: Hub-and-spoke model with Cisco's software functioning as a 'Digital Air Traffic Controller' autonomously coordinating Qunnect's Carina hardware across geographically separated nodes[1]
• Hardware: Qunnect's room-temperature quantum hardware with independent entanglement sources, eliminating need for cryogenic cooling systems[1]
• Fiber Integration: Deployed over 17.6 km of commercial telecom fiber connecting Brooklyn and Manhattan through QTD Systems' data center at 60 Hudson Street[1][3]
• Performance Metrics: Achieved 1.7 million entanglement pairs per hour in local configuration and 5,400 pairs per hour over deployed metro fiber while maintaining >99% polarization fidelity[1]
• Software Orchestration: Cisco's quantum networking software stack provides unified control and coordination across distributed quantum nodes, enabling field-ready entanglement distribution and swapping[1]
• Real-World Resilience: System successfully operated over live infrastructure while managing vibrations, temperature fluctuations, and irregular fiber routing—challenges that typically degrade quantum signal quality[4]

This demonstration signals a paradigm shift in quantum network deployment from laboratory-centric development to infrastructure-integrated commercialization. The validation of entanglement swapping over existing telecom fiber suggests that quantum networking expansion may not require dedicated quantum-only infrastructure, reducing deployment costs and timelines. Market implications include: (1) software and orchestration solutions becoming primary value drivers rather than hardware alone; (2) established telecom and data center companies gaining competitive advantage through existing fiber networks; (3) financial services emerging as early adopters due to latency-sensitive applications where quantum timing precision creates measurable value; (4) acceleration of distributed quantum computing architectures that leverage multiple quantum-capable sites connected through metropolitan networks; and (5) potential consolidation around hybrid classical-quantum networking stacks that integrate with existing data center operations[1][4].