Quantum computing expert Ilana Wisby explained how next-generation processing capabilities could help operators overhaul network management by significantly reducing the time taken to compute complex calculations.

The CEO and founder of Oxford Quantum Circuits (pictured) told a keynote the core principles of quantum entanglement can be used to form the basis of various algorithms covering optimisation, machine learning and simulation, in turn helping to cut the time taken to solve various problems.

Algorithms can be employed to provide solutions which are “fundamentally not possible today” in a “matter of moments” rather than thousands of years.

Wisby cited a conundrum of calculating how many cities a travelling salesperson could visit in the shortest period of time as an example, explaining that while this is “classically a solvable problem up to a certain amount”, there comes a point where doing so would take “longer than the entire amount of time known in the universe”.

In the “quantum regime”, however, the algorithm can “effectively encode this into an optimisation-style problem”, which is more solvable and thus able to cut the “computational time significantly”.

Wisby of course argued there are broader benefits for society to derive from quantum computing, but highlighted various challenges around security and ethics remain outstanding.