The Czech Republic launched the pilot operation of its national quantum communication infrastructure (CZQCI), a backbone network connecting Prague, Brno, and Ostrava through which data is being transmitted using quantum key distribution (QKD). According to IT4Innovations, the results of the pilot operation were presented on April 14, 2026, at a ceremonial event in Brno attended by representatives of the European Union, foreign consortia, government agencies, research institutions, and industry.
Funded by the European Union’s Digital Europe Programme and the National Recovery Plan, the CZQCI project is part of the pan-European EuroQCI initiative. CyberSecurityHubcz coordinated the effort at the national level, with partners including CESNET, Czech Technical University in Prague, Palacky University Olomouc, the Institute of Scientific Instruments of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno University of Technology, and VSB – Technical University of Ostrava.
Assoc. Prof. Jan Bouda, CZQCI project coordinator, said the infrastructure serves as “the technological foundation from which secure communications of the future can emerge, as well as a space for training the next generation of experts in quantum technologies.” Plans call for expansion and gradual interconnection with neighboring countries in the coming years.