Every day personal computers, phones and tablets spin a fascinating array of cybernetical illusions. Click on a tiny icon of a browser, and in pops a window that lets you behold the world at your fingertips. Sitting in Canada, but want to map your holiday through the interweaving streets of Rome? No Problem! 'Maps' is always at hand. Switch over to the satellite feed to get the lay of the land and even the closest gelato shop. Oh wait, it's new times. Let's hold a team meeting or catch up for a coffee with a friend, virtually, of course.

Quantum networks work by entangling photons with data, which may then be encoded and sent through the same ground-based telecom fibre that is already in use.