COMPANY RESEARCH · Networking

Falqon Systems

Distributes encryption keys between network endpoints and manages their delivery to consuming applications.

Netherlands · Research reviewed 7 Sept 2026

Initial record: initial assessment recorded.

Review history 1 record

Record dates use UTC and show when an assessment or clarification was saved. Review dates show the evidence check. Earlier records were recovered from QubitWire’s source history; no earlier score movement is inferred.

Recorded
7 Sept 2026
Initial assessment recorded
Assessment reviewed 7 Sept 2026 · Research reviewed 7 Sept 2026
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Sources in this record (5)

Identity & attribution

Organization record: Falqon Systems (organization-102)
Recorded role: Measurement-device-independent QKD networks
Recorded aliases: Q*Bird · QBird · Q Bird · q-bird · Falqon Systems
Name and period: Q*Bird became Falqon Systems on September 15, 2026. The company says its legal entity and corporate identifiers are unchanged. Earlier assessments retain their original names and dates; this identity update does not change any score. Company’s September 2026 announcement ↗
Product scope: Hub-and-spoke MDI-QKD with endpoint key extraction, optical switching and a separate key-management layer.

A company profile may discuss several systems. Capabilities remain attached to the product and conditions named in each source; they do not transfer automatically to related organizations. A verified security relationship has not been attached to this record.

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TECHNOLOGY & ACCESS

What it does. Where it fits.

Hub-and-spoke MDI-QKD with endpoint key extraction, optical switching and a separate key-management layer.

Who should look closer

Network operators evaluating multi-site QKD and the practical integration of QKD-derived and other cryptographic keys.

QubitWire’s editorial assessment of practical fit.

Commercial equipment and deployment enquiry

Falqon devices and key-management software are offered through the supplier. Network topology, fiber availability and authentication architecture must be specified for each deployment.

Check the current access route ↗

DOCUMENTED EVIDENCE

What the sources establish

Q*Bird reports three Utrecht testbed links of 1.9, 7.1 and 11 km. Separately, the Port of Rotterdam confirms a trial linking Portbase and the Port Authority; it describes expansion as future work.

q-bird.com ↗portofrotterdam.com ↗

What remains unresolved

Reviewed deployment accounts do not provide a complete independently audited key-rate, loss and uptime benchmark. MDI-QKD does not remove endpoint, authentication or application-security requirements.

The next question to watch

Can operators publish sustained key rates, loss budgets, security assumptions and uptime across larger multi-vendor networks?

A research question, not a promised milestone.

QubitWire coverage

No published QubitWire stories currently match this organization. The evidence sources below provide the starting point.

Open research questions

Editorial questions for this profile. No reviewed closure decision has been recorded; unanswered questions do not lower the official score.

Open research question

Can operators publish sustained key rates, loss budgets, security assumptions and uptime across larger multi-vendor networks?

What evidence would help

A source addressing this question must identify the named system, experiment or deployment, its conditions, measured outcome and remaining limitations. What distance, loss, fidelity and useful rate were demonstrated together?

What would resolve it?

An editorial review must explain which part of this question the evidence resolves. A roadmap or an announcement alone does not close it.

No resolved, partial or disputed outcome is asserted without a reviewed transition and its evidence.

Suggest evidence

Open research question

Which named system or service can I use under the documented access route?

What evidence would help

Check the current terms for commercial equipment and deployment enquiry. Identify the system version, eligibility, restrictions and whether the result used hardware or simulation.

What would resolve it?

Current primary documentation must identify the offering, eligible user and access conditions. An unspecified company-level access claim is insufficient.

No resolved, partial or disputed outcome is asserted without a reviewed transition and its evidence.

Suggest evidence

Open research question

Is this a deployed network, a field trial or a laboratory link?

What evidence would help

Provide the source location, relevant product or generation, workload, resource constraints and reported uncertainty. Keep measurements, simulations and announced targets distinct.

What would resolve it?

A source reviewer must map the evidence to this exact scope. Missing disclosure remains unknown; it is not technical failure.

No resolved, partial or disputed outcome is asserted without a reviewed transition and its evidence.

Suggest evidence

Questions are drawn from the existing brief and sector reading guide. Research brief reviewed 7 Sept 2026. Following stores a local bookmark; it does not send email alerts or imply a scheduled review.

Since your review

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From claim to assessment

These are the existing assessment claims and their recorded criterion links. A source link is not an independent replication. New research does not change these published ratings automatically.

Source references in method 1.0 · assessment reviewed 7 Sept 2026
Recorded claim & source	Assessment linkage	Provenance & limits
Source 1 Falqon equipment comprises end nodes, an optical switch and a central hub for MDI-QKD; the site describes centralized monitoring and a commercial enquiry route. Q*Bird product overview ↗Published Not recorded Exact source location No page, figure or section locator is recorded. Open the source and check the claim in its original context.	Delivery Falqon network equipment and key management have documented configurations, interfaces and commercial enquiry paths. Integration Documented key-delivery interfaces and a hybrid QKD/PQC management layer support deployment into existing networks. Published rating inputs remain unchanged.	Organization-originated source Source type: Vendor product documentation. Independent replication, experiment date and source-version fingerprint are not separately recorded. Product and measurement scope: read the named system and conditions in this claim. No normalized product revision is assigned. Review recorded 7 Sept 2026. Research brief reviewed 7 Sept 2026. These dates do not establish publication or experiment dates. Report an issue with this claim →
Source 2 The supplier reports an operational three-location QKD testbed with 1.9, 7.1 and 11 km fiber connections to a hub. The account is not an independent throughput or security audit. Q*Bird and SURF launch a quantum network in Utrecht ↗Published 19 Nov 2024 Exact source location No page, figure or section locator is recorded. Open the source and check the claim in its original context.	Capability An operational deployment reports specific fiber lengths and a participating operator confirms a separate trial; comprehensive measured key rates remain unverified. Use in practice A named operator confirms a working trial and a separate SURF installation is documented; these remain project-partner accounts. Published rating inputs remain unchanged.	Organization-originated source Source type: Vendor deployment report. Independent replication, experiment date and source-version fingerprint are not separately recorded. Product and measurement scope: read the named system and conditions in this claim. No normalized product revision is assigned. Review recorded 7 Sept 2026. Research brief reviewed 7 Sept 2026. These dates do not establish publication or experiment dates. Report an issue with this claim →
Source 3 The participating port operator names Q*Bird in its consortium and confirms a successful trial with Portbase and Port Authority endpoints. The port is a project partner, not an independent security evaluator. Port of Rotterdam half-year update: quantum-network trial ↗Published 18 Jul 2024 Exact source location No page, figure or section locator is recorded. Open the source and check the claim in its original context.	Capability An operational deployment reports specific fiber lengths and a participating operator confirms a separate trial; comprehensive measured key rates remain unverified. Use in practice A named operator confirms a working trial and a separate SURF installation is documented; these remain project-partner accounts. Published rating inputs remain unchanged.	Organization-originated source Source type: Customer and consortium-partner report. Independent replication, experiment date and source-version fingerprint are not separately recorded. Product and measurement scope: read the named system and conditions in this claim. No normalized product revision is assigned. Review recorded 7 Sept 2026. Research brief reviewed 7 Sept 2026. These dates do not establish publication or experiment dates. Report an issue with this claim →
Source 4 The supplier documents MDI-QKD topology and ETSI004, ETSI014, ETSI020 and SKIP interfaces; its maximum-distance claim is a product specification, not a demonstrated field result in this assessment. Q*Bird Falqon Series brochure ↗Published Not recorded Exact source location No page, figure or section locator is recorded. Open the source and check the claim in its original context.	Delivery Falqon network equipment and key management have documented configurations, interfaces and commercial enquiry paths. Integration Documented key-delivery interfaces and a hybrid QKD/PQC management layer support deployment into existing networks. Published rating inputs remain unchanged.	Organization-originated source Source type: Vendor technical brochure. Independent replication, experiment date and source-version fingerprint are not separately recorded. Product and measurement scope: read the named system and conditions in this claim. No normalized product revision is assigned. Review recorded 7 Sept 2026. Research brief reviewed 7 Sept 2026. These dates do not establish publication or experiment dates. Report an issue with this claim →
Source 5 Describes key management across QKD and non-QKD environments with on-premise and customer-cloud deployment options. This does not establish blanket end-to-end security. Falqon Key Manager ↗Published Not recorded Exact source location No page, figure or section locator is recorded. Open the source and check the claim in its original context.	Delivery Falqon network equipment and key management have documented configurations, interfaces and commercial enquiry paths. Integration Documented key-delivery interfaces and a hybrid QKD/PQC management layer support deployment into existing networks. Published rating inputs remain unchanged.	Organization-originated source Source type: Vendor product documentation. Independent replication, experiment date and source-version fingerprint are not separately recorded. Product and measurement scope: read the named system and conditions in this claim. No normalized product revision is assigned. Review recorded 7 Sept 2026. Research brief reviewed 7 Sept 2026. These dates do not establish publication or experiment dates. Report an issue with this claim →

Revision and evidence-family boundaries

Record reference: 7165ded3b9494d693aa8f06d6f146ad5bcfd321d30afa1d7d1f59894cace8071. Read prior recorded revisions.

Repeated coverage can describe the same experiment. The assessment does not contain a reviewed claim-family grouping, so the number of links is never shown as a replication count. Source pages can change independently of this saved assessment; the original source text is not archived here.

CHECK THE ORIGINALS

Sources & evidence

Q*Bird product overview ↗Organization-originated source · Publication date not stated
Falqon equipment comprises end nodes, an optical switch and a central hub for MDI-QKD; the site describes centralized monitoring and a commercial enquiry route.
Q*Bird and SURF launch a quantum network in Utrecht ↗Organization-originated source · 19 Nov 2024
The supplier reports an operational three-location QKD testbed with 1.9, 7.1 and 11 km fiber connections to a hub. The account is not an independent throughput or security audit.
Port of Rotterdam half-year update: quantum-network trial ↗Organization-originated source · 18 Jul 2024
The participating port operator names Q*Bird in its consortium and confirms a successful trial with Portbase and Port Authority endpoints. The port is a project partner, not an independent security evaluator.
Q*Bird Falqon Series brochure ↗Organization-originated source · Publication date not stated
The supplier documents MDI-QKD topology and ETSI004, ETSI014, ETSI020 and SKIP interfaces; its maximum-distance claim is a product specification, not a demonstrated field result in this assessment.
Falqon Key Manager ↗Organization-originated source · Publication date not stated
Describes key management across QKD and non-QKD environments with on-premise and customer-cloud deployment options. This does not establish blanket end-to-end security.

QRANK EDITORIAL OPINION

75.0/ 100

Shared position 2 of 5 assessed in networking.

Edition 23 Sept 2026 · Assessment reviewed 7 Sept 2026

Why this position?

Strength: Specified multi-node architecture, named deployments and documented key-management interfaces.

Limitation: Reviewed deployment accounts do not provide a complete independently audited key-rate, loss and uptime benchmark. MDI-QKD does not remove endpoint, authentication or application-security requirements.

Read the assessment evidence →

Capability3 / 4

An operational deployment reports specific fiber lengths and a participating operator confirms a separate trial; comprehensive measured key rates remain unverified.

35% of the sector score

Source 2 ↗Source 3 ↗

Delivery3 / 4

Falqon network equipment and key management have documented configurations, interfaces and commercial enquiry paths.

25% of the sector score

Source 1 ↗Source 4 ↗Source 5 ↗

Use in practice3 / 4

A named operator confirms a working trial and a separate SURF installation is documented; these remain project-partner accounts.

25% of the sector score

Source 2 ↗Source 3 ↗

Integration3 / 4

Documented key-delivery interfaces and a hybrid QKD/PQC management layer support deployment into existing networks.

15% of the sector score

Source 1 ↗Source 4 ↗Source 5 ↗

Scores express QubitWire’s research-informed opinions within this sector. They are not objective measurements, official ratings or forecasts of investment returns.

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Published method & explore assumptions

Published assessment: 75.0 / 100
Method 1.0 · Networking · reviewed 7 Sept 2026

Version manifest and exact arithmetic

Method: 1.0 · current recorded sector weights
Rating domain: Integer 0–4. Missing inputs remain unscored.
Arithmetic: Sum of weight × rating / 4, before display rounding.
Ranking precision: Production compares unrounded calculated totals. There is no separate quantized rank-tick policy.
Ties: Exactly equal totals share the same competition position. Alphabetical display order does not break a tie.
Display: One decimal using the production JavaScript toFixed(1) formatting rule. Display rounding does not determine rank.
Cohort: Eligible published assessments in this sector and method. Numbered positions require at least three eligible records; reviews over 90 days old leave the current ranking.

Criterion	Rating	Weight	Exact points
Capability	3	35%	26.25
Delivery	3	25%	18.75
Use in practice	3	25%	18.75
Integration	3	15%	11.25

Original recorded versions remain in the company review history. No method transition or historical trend is inferred by this workspace.

Explore assumptions

Hypothetical scenario. Change weights to explore this one assessment. The official score, ranking and saved edition are unchanged. This is scenario dependence, not a confidence interval.

Capability · 35%Delivery · 25%Use in practice · 25%Integration · 15%

Weight total: 100%. Required total: 100%.

Hypothetical score: 75.0 / 100

Corrections & review history

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