The Prime Minister and Minister for Communications and Media of Luxembourg, Xavier Bettel, and Minister of Economy Franz Fayot took a promising step towards ushering in the era of quantum technology. These key figures met with the CEO of SK Telecom, Young Sang Ryu, to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that discusses laying the foundation for quantum tech market in Luxembourg and potential new strategic alliances.
SK Telecom, an innovation leader in quantum technologies, is considering establishing a local presence in Luxembourg. The primary goal? To develop opportunities that can bolster the growing quantum ecosystem in the country. Xavier Bettel acknowledged that this agreement is a crucial stride in enhancing technology, infrastructures, and services in the quantum field. He attributed its success to SK Telecom’s domain excellence and Luxembourg’s initiatives like LuxQCI, focusing on satellite innovation and advanced data center infrastructure.
This meeting and the ensuing MoU draw a line straight back to an earlier agreement between South Korea and Luxembourg’s governments. The pact aimed to deepen collaboration within quantum tech’s different facets and to pave the way towards a futuristic ‘quantum Internet of Things’. A testimony to the long-standing and rewarding partnerships between our corporations, asserts the Economy’s Minister, Franz Fayot.
SK Telecom has already demonstrated consistent interest in quantum technology, having launched a research lab in this field back in 2011. Moreover, the company started embedding this emerging technology into its 5G network by 2019, clearly marking itself as an industry leader in the space. The company has also partnered with Equinix recently to develop a service offering based around quantum key distribution (QKD).
Beyond SK Telecom, telecom operators worldwide, including Deutsche Telekom, are also capitalizing on quantum technology’s potential. Given the technological advances, telcos’ focus on quantum computing is understandable, particularly as it signifies a potential threat to traditional public key cryptography algorithms used extensively for securing telco data.
Meanwhile, SK Telecom continues to heavily invest in artificial intelligence, another booming technology. The company’s recent moves clearly indicate a commitment to becoming a global AI leader, demonstrated by its founding membership in the Global Telco AI Alliance. The company’s recent efforts include investments of $100 million in Anthropic, an AI firm, while acquiring a significant stake in Persona AI, an AI contact center specialist.
