Standards Bodies to Coordinate Contributions to Quantum Information Technology

(MirageNews) Experts in quantum information technology and standardization are set to convene March 23 to discuss modes of cooperation capable of ensuring harmonized standards development.
The symposium will share insight into three key dimensions of quantum technologies: quantum communication, quantum computation, and quantum measurement. Presentations will be followed by a panel discussion among representatives of standards bodies including ITU, ISO, IEC, NIST, ETSI, and CEN-CENELEC.
The discussion aims to establish panelists’ opinion on the appropriate shape of ‘standardization roadmap’ for quantum information technologies.
The symposium aims to pinpoint areas most in need of standards and discuss the appropriate timeline for standards development. It will explore lessons learnt from standards development in areas such as optics and photonics with a view to adapting successful coordination methods to quantum standardization.
The upcoming symposium on quantum standardization has been organized in support of an open-to-all ITU Focus Group on ‘Quantum Information Technology for Networks’ studying the evolution of quantum information technologies in view of their foreseen applications in ICT networks. The group is conducting exploratory ‘pre-standardization’ studies to identify emerging standardization demands and anticipate demands to arise in future.
ITU standardization work is addressing network and security aspects of quantum information technologies with an initial focus on Quantum Key Distribution (QKD), a means of enabling quantum-secure encryption and authentication. This work is led by ITU-T Study Group 13 (Future networks and cloud) and ITU-T Study Group 17 (Security).