Yet a year later, it became part of the first satellite-to-ground quantum network. In 2018, it found itself part of the first intercontinental quantum cryptography service. This was achieved via a videoconference between China and Austria, which was secured by using the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES).
This demonstrated secure communication on a global scale. It laid out the groundwork for a future quantum internet.
As MIT Technology Review stresses, many organizations await the commercial availability of this type of secure communication. When will this happen? In the world of COVID-19, chances are sooner rather than later.