Quantum networking infrastructure developer Qunnect has announced the formal activation of ABQ-Net in Albuquerque, New Mexico, marking the first open-access, entanglement-based quantum network testbed in the United States. Designed to provide early-stage startups and commercial technology companies with affordable access to live network environments, the infrastructure launches with two active nodes integrated directly into commercial telecom fiber pathways. The network serves as a real-world validation environment for physical layer technologies and software protocols targeting quantum cybersecurity, distributed quantum processing, and quantum sensing across the defense, finance, telecom, and energy sectors.
The physical layer underpinning the distributed network topology is driven natively by Qunnect’s proprietary Carina entanglement distribution system. Operating entirely at room temperature, the turnkey hardware suite manages polarization-entangled photon generation alongside dynamic fiber-phase stabilization tools to preserve quantum states across active metropolitan fiber-optic corridors. The first two anchor nodes connect Qunnect’s downtown Albuquerque facility with the Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies (CINT)—a U.S. Department of Energy-funded facility operated jointly by Sandia National Laboratories and Los Alamos National Laboratory. The network layout is architected for future expansion to interface with adjacent regional institutions, including the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), the University of New Mexico, and Central New Mexico Community College.
Boston-based quantum network software developer Aliro Quantum is among the inaugural commercial users leveraging the live infrastructure. Aliro is utilizing the Albuquerque testbed to deploy, test, and validate its suite of quantum security services, executing its real-time key generation operating system and network management software in tandem with Qunnect’s Carina hardware. Backed by Roadrunner Venture Studios and the New Mexico Economic Development Department, ABQ-Net represents a core component of New Mexico’s broader $300 million state-level funding commitment aimed at establishing a localized quantum commercialization economy.
The official commercial launch brief and node access application protocols can be reviewed here.
June 16, 2026
