Chattanooga utility and broadband provider EPB plans to add quantum computing to its existing metro area quantum network. The company will partner with quantum technology developer IonQ on the venture, to be called EPB Quantum Center.
EPB expects the center to be the first in the U.S. to lease both quantum computing and quantum networking on a commercial basis. Telecompetitor got some additional details on EPB’s ambitious quantum ventures from EPB CEO David Wade.
EPB pioneered gigabit broadband over 10 years ago, generating major economic benefits for Chattanooga. The company now expects the Quantum Center to generate similar results.
According to Wade, EPB’s $4.5 million initial investment in its metro quantum network, launched in 2022, already has paid for itself.
“EPB Quantum Network has paid for itself through selling time to other organizations so that they can run their technologies on the network, along with a contractual payment made to EPB upon IonQ’s acquisition of Qubitekk, which was EPB’s primary technology partner in the original development of the network,” Wade explained.
Wade noted that the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga has a permanent node on the network. He added that “other organizations that use the EPB Quantum Network utilize the offices within the facility while running and assessing their technologies for a specified contractual time.”
EPB Quantum Center
Quantum computing and quantum networking are based on quantum physics and, as EPB notes in its Quantum Center announcement, quantum computers can handle more complex problems and process massive data sets faster than traditional computers.
Developers expect quantum computing to generate a range of new applications in industries such as finance and life sciences.
The Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Qunnect are among the organizations that have used the EPB quantum network successfully to develop and test new applications for quantum technology. Qunnect operates a quantum network testbed in New York City known as GothamQ.
EPB expects to use the Quantum Center resources itself to pursue applications involving cybersecurity for critical infrastructure, grid optimization, route optimization, predictive maintenance, and optimizing local energy resources.
Asked whether EPB has any entities lined up to purchase access time on the Chattanooga quantum computer, Wade noted that the company “has only just received the green light from the EPB Board to move forward with this project.”
He added, though, that “because quantum computing resources are so scarce, we are confident in our very conservative estimate of fully covering the cost within three years by selling access time.”
