Open Fiber and the National Institute of Metrological Research (INRiM) They are starting a 14-month collaboration to experiment with ultra-precise time synchronization technologies, quantum communication, and distributed infrastructure monitoring on fiber optic networks.
The goal is integrate telecommunications and advanced metrology To make digital networks increasingly precise, secure, and resilient, supporting critical applications and highly reliable services. The first area of activity concerns the dissemination of certified time, an essential element for coordinating systems and services that require extremely accurate synchronization, such as financial transactions, energy grids, data centers, industrial infrastructure, and complex digital platforms.
Open Fiber and INRiM will collaborate on the implementation and validation of advanced solutions based on protocols such as Precision Time Protocol (PTP) and White Rabbit, capable of distributing time signals with particularly high levels of precision across telecommunication networks.
The second line of collaboration is dedicated to quantum communicationsThe activities will include the design, testing, and validation of Quantum Key Distribution (QKD)-based infrastructures and protocols, designed to enable the secure exchange of cryptographic keys and detect interception attempts. The experimentation will evaluate the effectiveness of QKD technologies in real-world telecommunications scenarios and explore the contribution these technologies can make to data protection in the post-quantum future.
The project includes a structured path which, starting from the analysis of the requirements, will lead to the construction of experimental testbeds, i.e., test environments in which to field-test the developed solutions. Both certified time distribution architectures and quantum communication technologies will be evaluated.
A third area of collaboration concerns distributed fiber sensing, which allows fiber optics to be used not only for data transmission, but also as a sensing system capable of monitoring physical and environmental conditions along the infrastructure in real time. These technologies can help identify events, anomalies, and stresses on the network, strengthening its security, monitoring capacity, and resilience.
The collaboration will involve activities of research, design, experimentation, validation and technical-scientific dissemination, with the aim of transferring expertise and results from research to the industrial sector. In a context where networks are increasingly playing a central role in managing critical data, digital services, and complex ecosystems, the integration of fiber infrastructures and advanced metrology technologies represents a strategic step towards ensuring high performance, reliability, and security.
With this collaboration, Open Fiber and INRiM intend to contribute to the development of a next-generation digital infrastructure, capable of supporting strategic applications in the sectors of finance, energy, industry, data centers and future quantum networks, while strengthening the country's technological competitiveness.
“Fiber is no longer just a connectivity infrastructure, but can become a technological platform capable of distributing certified time, protecting communications and detecting what happens along the network – he declared Nicola Grassi, Technology Director of Open Fiber – With INRiM, we want to take these applications from research to testing in real-world scenarios, making our infrastructure increasingly secure, resilient, and ready to support the critical services of the future.”
“INRiM makes available the expertise in time measurement and quantum metrology that it has acquired in over ten years of research by developing a fibre optic infrastructure distributed over 1800 km across the peninsula, from Turin to Matera – he added Davide Calonico, Scientific Director of the National Institute of Metrological Research The goal is to transfer the results of public research to the productive sector to develop Italian innovation with reliable, verifiable, and transferable solutions capable of guaranteeing the high levels of precision and security required by next-generation digital networks.
