In this study, we demonstrate the possibility to protect, with Quantum Key Distribution (QKD), a critical infrastructure as the fiber-based one used for time and frequency (TF) dissemination service. The proposed technique allows to disseminate secure and precise TF signals between two fiber-optic-connected locations, on a critical infrastructure, using both QKD and White Rabbit technique. This secure exchange enables the secret sharing of time information between two parties, allowing the synchronization of distant clocks with a stability of [Formula: see text] at 1 s, traceable to the Italian time scale. When encrypted, the time signals provide no useful information to a third party regarding the synchronization status, resulting in a time stability degraded by two orders of magnitude.
Frequency dissemination in phase-stabilized optical fiber networks for metrological frequency comparisons and precision measurements are promising candidates to overcome the limitations imposed by satellite techniques. However, in an architecture shared with telecommunication data traffic, network constraints restrict the availability of dedicated channels in the commonly-used C-band. Here, we demonstrate the dissemination of an SI-traceable ultrastable optical frequency in the L-band over a 456 km fiber network with ring topology, in which data traffic occupies the full C-band. We characterize the optical phase noise and evaluate a link instability of 4.7 × 10-16 at 1 s and 3.8 × 10-19 at 2000 s integration time, and a link accuracy of 2 × 10-18. We demonstrate the application of the disseminated frequency by establishing the SI-traceability of a laser in a remote laboratory. Finally, we show that our metrological frequency does not interfere with data traffic in the telecommunication channels. Our approach combines an unconventional spectral choice in the telecommunication L-band with established frequency-stabilization techniques, providing a novel, cost-effective solution for ultrastable frequency-comparison and dissemination, and may contribute to a foundation of a world-wide metrological network.
White Rabbit (WR) technology provides a commercially-available off-the-shelf solution for time synchronisation with sub-nanosecond accuracy and picosecond-level precision over optical fibre links typically spanning tens of kilometres. Such high-performance time dissemination can support a variety of applications, including position, navigation and timing (PNT), financial transactions, metrology, as well as entanglement and quantum key distribution (QKD). Demonstrations of WR over significantly longer distances remain few and far between, particularly in scenarios where intermediate amplification is unavailable, such as stretches of long-haul underwater fibre. In this work, we report the longest unrepeated deployment of WR to date, achieving time synchronisation over a 300 km (51.34 dB) single-span optical fibre link, even in highly asymmetrical configurations, with 99.86% uptime, whilst maintaining picosecond-level precision and sub-nanosecond accuracy. This was achieved through careful selection and optimisation of the components deployed at the link's end points. By leveraging standard telecom fibre and off-the-shelf hardware, our results pave the way for a scalable and standardised timing backbone for large-scale quantum networks, offering a practical route toward time distribution in future heterogeneous quantum communication systems.