New York Quantum Network Hits Major Wireless Breakthrough
Stony Brook and Brookhaven researchers sent quantum information 13 miles through open air, a key test for expanding next-generation communications beyond fiber-optic cables.
New York’s quantum network has reached a major research milestone in New York State after scientists successfully transmitted light carrying quantum information through open air over a 13-mile distance between Stony Brook University and Brookhaven National Laboratory.
Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the achievement Friday, Aug. 21, describing it as an important step toward expanding New York’s quantum communications infrastructure beyond traditional fiber-optic cables. The existing network stretches 161 miles and connects multiple research sites across Long Island and the New York City metropolitan area.
The experiment may sound like science fiction, but its goal is practical: scientists are trying to build networks capable of connecting future quantum computers and other quantum devices across much greater distances.
What did New York researchers accomplish?
Researchers at Stony Brook University and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory transmitted specially prepared particles of light, called photons, from Stony Brook to Brookhaven through the open air.
According to the governor’s office, the photons were generated at Stony Brook’s Quantum Watchtower and traveled about 13 miles to Brookhaven’s Quantum Lighthouse in Upton.
Before entering the open air, the photons emerged from an optical fiber core measuring about 5 microns across — less than one-tenth the width of a human hair.
That matters because most experimental quantum networks rely heavily on fiber-optic cables.
The successful test showed that researchers may be able to supplement those cables with what scientists call a free-space optical link — essentially transmitting quantum information through the air rather than keeping it entirely inside fiber.
“This free-space link is a key milestone in its own right, but it is also part of a much larger roadmap leading to distributed quantum systems,” Brookhaven Lab Director John Hill said in the state announcement.
What is a quantum communications network?
A quantum communications network is an experimental system that uses the principles of quantum mechanics to transfer quantum information between locations.
Unlike the internet people use every day, these systems can involve individual photons and a phenomenon known as quantum entanglement.
With entanglement, particles can share quantum properties even when separated.
The technology remains an active field of research. It should not be confused with simply creating a faster version of today’s internet.
Researchers are studying quantum networks for several potential uses, including:
- Connecting quantum computers
- Highly secure communications
- Distributed scientific computing
- Advanced sensing
- Quantum research across distant laboratories
- New cybersecurity applications
The U.S. Department of Energy has been pursuing the development of a national quantum internet for years. In 2020, DOE outlined a strategy aimed at developing technologies needed for nationwide quantum networking. Brookhaven and Stony Brook were already part of that effort.
New York’s network already stretches 161 miles
The latest experiment builds on a network that has steadily grown in both distance and capability.
Brookhaven National Laboratory independently confirmed in 2025 that its network with Stony Brook covered a 161-mile path, describing it at the time as the longest fiber-optic quantum communications network in the United States.
The governor’s office said the system now connects eight nodes across several institutions.
Researchers have used the network to send entangled photons between Brookhaven, Stony Brook University and New York City before returning them to Brookhaven.
The open-air experiment addresses another problem: fiber cannot conveniently reach every location scientists may eventually want to connect.
Adding wireless links could potentially allow quantum networks to bridge places where physical fiber connections are impractical.
A third quantum facility is planned at Yale
The project is also looking beyond New York.
Stony Brook’s Quantum Watchtower and Brookhaven’s Quantum Lighthouse are expected to be joined by another facility under development at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut.
Together, the facilities are intended to form a free-space optical system capable of adding wireless connections to the existing fiber network.
The development could eventually help researchers connect quantum devices over longer distances and across different types of infrastructure.
The immediate goal is research rather than commercial service.
Stony Brook University President Andrea Goldsmith called the wireless link “a major leap forward” toward what she described as a “Quantum Internet of Things.” She said researchers are working to overcome the difficulty of transmitting entangled photons wirelessly.
Why New York is spending heavily on quantum research
The milestone is part of a much larger state investment.
In 2025, Hochul announced a $300 million state investment to establish a Quantum Research and Innovation Hub at Stony Brook University.
The project is intended to expand research, education and infrastructure in quantum science, with a particular emphasis on communications and networking.
Stony Brook later reported that its strategic plan for the $300 million investment included both construction of the new research hub and statewide expansion of the New York State Quantum Internet Testbed.
New York officials hope those investments will do more than support university research.
They are also positioning quantum technology as an economic-development strategy that could attract companies, researchers and highly skilled jobs.
Empire State Development Board Chairman Kevin Law said the partnership could help Long Island attract “talent, investment, and future economic growth.”
What could quantum networking eventually do?
The long-term possibilities are significant, although many remain experimental.
One of the biggest goals is to eventually allow multiple quantum computers to work together.
A quantum computer operates differently from a traditional computer. Instead of conventional bits that represent either a zero or a one, quantum systems use qubits, which can take advantage of quantum properties to approach certain kinds of problems differently.
That does not mean quantum computers will replace laptops, smartphones or ordinary data centers.
They are instead being researched for specialized problems where quantum physics could provide an advantage.
Researchers envision interconnected quantum systems helping with areas such as:
- Materials and chemistry research
- Drug and medical research
- Complex scientific simulations
- Advanced sensing
- Cybersecurity research
- Optimization problems
- Distributed quantum computing
Brookhaven officials say connecting increasingly sophisticated quantum systems could eventually allow researchers to approach problems in computation, communication and sensing that cannot be tackled the same way today.
What about cybersecurity?
Security is one of the most discussed potential uses of quantum communication.
Certain quantum communication techniques can allow participants to detect attempts to observe or intercept quantum information because measuring a quantum state can change it.
That principle could support highly secure forms of communication.
But readers should be cautious about claims that quantum technology makes communications automatically or universally “unhackable.”
Real-world networks still involve hardware, software, authentication systems and human operators. Those components can have vulnerabilities even when quantum technologies are involved.
The current Stony Brook-Brookhaven experiment therefore represents an important research step — not the arrival of a finished consumer cybersecurity system.
Years of research led to the latest breakthrough
New York’s quantum communications work did not begin with this announcement.
Brookhaven and Stony Brook have collaborated on long-distance quantum networking for years.
In 2020, the institutions reported transmitting quantum bits across about 140 kilometers, or 87 miles, using telecommunications fiber. At the time, Brookhaven described it as the longest successful U.S. quantum communication experiment of its kind.
By 2025, the research network had grown to 161 miles. During a visit by U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright that September, Brookhaven researchers demonstrated entangled photons traveling between the laboratory, Stony Brook University and New York City.
The latest open-air test adds another piece of infrastructure scientists will need if quantum networking is ever going to grow beyond laboratory and fiber-based testbeds.
The bigger picture for New York
New York officials are making a sizable bet that quantum technology will become an important part of the next generation of computing and communications.
There is still a long road between an experimental network linking research institutions and a large-scale quantum internet.
The scientific challenges are substantial, and commercial applications will depend on technologies that remain under development.
Still, transmitting quantum information through open air for 13 miles represents measurable progress.
For New Yorkers, the immediate impact is less about sending quantum messages from their homes and more about whether the state can turn its universities, laboratories and public investment into lasting scientific and economic leadership.
The next test will be whether researchers can continue extending the network while reliably connecting increasingly complex quantum devices.
If they can, the 13-mile trip between Stony Brook and Brookhaven could eventually be remembered as one link in something much larger.
Sources
Key information in this report was verified through the Office of Gov. Kathy Hochul, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Stony Brook University and earlier U.S. Department of Energy quantum-networking research documentation.
