Quantum computing is one of the novel computing paradigms gaining credibility in various sectors like finance, computer science, etc. The advent of the compute and forward paradigm in telecommunication networks was due to the softwarization of network functionalities, which have become an integral part of next-generation (5G and beyond) communication networks. Hence, communication networks are moving towards programmable network elements along with their respective functionalities running on general-purpose rather than special-purpose hardware.

5G and beyond networks will enable novel applications that require high data rate (1 ~ 100 Gbps), low latency (0.1~1 ms), and significant energy efficiency. Existing cloud computing data centers are not sufficient to provide these requirements for end users. Conventionally, computing in a communication network is done in ASIC, FPGA, and CPU/GPUs. However, the computing performance of these devices is not improving at the rate needed for realizing 5G and beyond applications.

Hence, alternative approaches like quantum computing could come to the enable the stringent performance requirements of computing, needed for 5G and beyond networks. Quantum computing works on two fundamental principles: superposition and entanglement. Due to these properties, quantum computing can offer speedups to non-quantum algorithms, and also compute complex data faster. Henceforth, it would be necessary to investigate the role of quantum computing in future communication networks.

The goals of the internship follow:

1. Acquiring knowledge on quantum computing platforms with the different physical properties.
2. Evaluation of performance and trade-offs for using quantum computing in communication technology.
3. Design, real implementation, and test of quantum-assisted computing process in a hybrid classical-quantum edge data centre, at TU Dresden.

Internship Supervisor

Riccardo Bassoli, Head of the Quantum Communication Networks Research Group, Deutsche Telekom Chair of Communication Networks

About Deutsche Telekom Chair of Communication Networks

The main focus of the Chair’s research is concentrated on future communication systems, including quantum communications. In particular, they are exploring quantum-based time synchronisation methods for next-generation networks such as 5G and 6G.