This Is How the Quantum Internet Begins

Added: 2026-05-10

[00:00:00]The world is slowly waking up to a very uncomfortable idea. One day, quantum computers could break a lot of the encryption that protects today's internet, allowing hackers to steal whatever they want. But, instead of waiting around for that problem to become a disaster, IonQ is now helping to build one of the first statewide quantum safe network initiatives in America. So, let me explain. The quantum computing company IonQ and Florida LambdaRail, which is a nonprofit statewide fiber optic network that connects universities, research institutions, and health care organizations are launching the first statewide quantum safe network initiative in the United States. But, if you slow down and actually look at it, this is actually one of the more practical and interesting things that IonQ has done recently. Mainly because this is about real infrastructure, institutions, and the early stage of what a quantum secure network might actually look like in the future. You see, one of the biggest challenges that I've noticed with computing investing is that it's so easy to talk about it in a vague futuristic way, but this story is different because it's a lot more tangible, which is a pattern that I've noticed more and more with IonQ over the last year. So, you have Florida LambdaRail, which already exists as an institution with their fiber network, and I don't really see IonQ being brought in here to pitch some sort of dream to them. They're being brought in to support what already exists, which is a nearly 100-mile long quantum corridor between Palm Beach County, local home of Palm Beach Pete, I'm not Jeffrey Epstein, I'm Palm Beach Pete.

[00:01:37]>> and Miami-Dade County, linking three research and education institutions over an existing statewide network. Now, this isn't going to be the final form, obviously, but it's absolutely the kind of thing that makes what IonQ is doing feel a lot less theoretical. So, let's start with the basics. If you're new here, IonQ is one of the major public quantum computing companies right now, and it's a stock that I personally own.

[00:02:02]Their identity started around trapped ion quantum computers, but the company has been really expanding beyond that lately. They now talk much more broadly about being a quantum platform company with products and ambitions across computing, networking, sensing, and security. And the broader platform story for them matters a lot because this Florida project isn't really about using IonQ's systems to run chemistry algorithms or financial models. It's about networking and security. Then, there's Florida Rail, which again is a statewide fiber optic backbone that connects a ton of institutions together across the state. It has a 1,540 mile dark fiber network, which is owned and operated on behalf of 13 university equity partners and supports 58 affiliates across different sectors. So, there's real communications infrastructure already in place here, and that's important because it means that this project can move directly into implementation rather than being limited to within the confines of a lab. Now, for the next part, let's discuss what the phrase quantum safe actually means.

[00:03:08]This is the most important phrase in the whole article. So, if you take the time to understand this part, you'll understand how the rest of the pieces come together. The basic concern is that quantum computing, once it gets powerful enough, is expected to break a lot of the encryption methods that are widely used today simply because of how powerful and fast quantum computers are.

[00:03:28]So, let me give you an example. RSA 2048 is a widely used encryption system that uses a special key to protect data and secure communications, and would take a traditional computer vastly longer than the age of the universe and even vastly longer than 100 trillion years to crack the code. So, essentially, long enough to the point of impracticality, even if this traditional computer was trying to crack it every second of every day. On the other hand, a really powerful quantum computer might be able to crack this encryption system in just a few days. That's how powerful the potential of these machines really are, and that creates a weird problem right now because bad actors can collect encrypted data today and just sit on it, hoping that future quantum systems will be able to decrypt it later on. That's the whole harvest now, decrypt later concern. So, when institutions talk about building quantum safe networks, what they really mean is that they're trying to prepare for a future where the normal encryption assumptions of today are definitely not going to hold up. And in this Florida project, the specific technology they're starting with is the quantum key distribution, or QKD. QKD is one of those things that sounds more complex than it actually is. In simple terms, it's a way of using quantum physics to help securely distribute encryption keys. The important idea is if someone tries to intercept the communication, the literal act of observing it changes a quantum state in a detectable way. So, unlike a lot of standard security models that rely on math being too hard to crack, QKD shifts some of that protection towards physics itself. This enables detection of any interception attempt and significantly strengthens the protection against future cyber threats. QKD isn't a perfect answer for all future security problems, so it has a lot of deployment complexity, extremely high costs, distance restraints, and a lot of the normal realities of building infrastructure.

[00:05:30]But, it is absolutely a serious and credible approach in certain network settings, especially where institutions care a lot about long-term secure communications.

[00:05:39]>> [music] >> That's why similar efforts are already happening in Switzerland and Romania.

[00:05:43]So, in other words, Florida isn't investing in this idea from nothing.

[00:05:47]It's joining the broader global movement towards experimenting with quantum secure infrastructure before any threats actually arrive. And this is where I think this whole thing gets more interesting from an investment perspective. If you're looking at IonQ as only a trapped ion quantum computing company, you're missing part of what they're actually trying to become. IonQ has been slowly, but clearly building a second identity around networking and security. We're already seeing them talk about photonic interconnects, remote entanglement, quantum memories, and modular systems. And this Florida announcement fits right into the bigger picture of what they're trying to achieve. IonQ wants to be involved not just on the compute side of quantum, but in the connective tissue around it, the network, security layer, and infrastructure layer. And if the world really does move toward more quantum safe communications over time, which I 100% believe that they will, then this could matter a lot. Think about what this project actually represents. It's not just three institutions in Florida testing something out because they can, it's a pilot for how quantum safe networking could start spreading through existing infrastructure. First, maybe it's research and education networks, then maybe more universities, then state level systems, and then maybe health care, defense, and other sectors where secure communications actually matter enough to justify all the complexity.

[00:07:14]Now, I don't think this means every business in the United States is about to install QKD, but it does mean we're starting to see the early pathway where quantum networking might leave the lab and actually enter real physical systems. And that matters because it gives a quantum story a different kind of legitimacy. A lot of quantum headlines are about what the technology might do someday. This announcement seems far more immediate and practical.

[00:07:39]This is about protecting communication infrastructure and network design. It's about states and institutions getting serious enough to actually build corridors and deploy systems. Now, this deal was announced at eMerge Americas, which is a major technology conference and expo in Miami that brings together startups, investors, and government leaders to talk about new technology and innovation. It leans heavily into the idea that Florida is trying to build a broader quantum ecosystem, which makes perfect sense because Florida has become a very business-friendly environment over the last few years. That said, while all this stuff is extremely exciting, it's still extremely early.

[00:08:19]The first phase is just a three-node corridor, and that broader statewide expansion depends on future funding and stakeholder participation. There still needs to be more proof that this idea can start living on actual fiber within institutions. So, I definitely wouldn't overhype this as Florida becoming the next fully operational capital of the quantum internet, but I also wouldn't dismiss it because early infrastructure projects like this are how real innovation begins. Also, from the perspective of just a normal person, this doesn't mean that your home internet will become quantum safe anytime soon, unfortunately. What it does mean, though, is that some high-value institutional networks are beginning to test and deploy technologies that are meant to make future communications harder to compromise in a post-quantum world. And in my opinion, this is where things really start to get interesting because IonQ just raised the bar again on what everyone thought was possible with quantum computers by revealing something truly insane. Watch this video next to check it out. Anyway, thanks for watching, and I'll catch you next time.