BOULDER and BETHESDA — Quantum Xchange, a secure communications and encryption provider, is partnering with Zayo Group Holdings Inc. (NYSE: ZAYO) for dark fiber that will be used to provide the first Quantum Key Distribution, or QKD, network in the United States.

Zayo, based in Boulder, is providing access to almost 500 miles of existing optical fiber spanning from Boston to Washington, D.C. Quantum Xchange will use the dark fiber to activate the initial leg of its QKD network. QKD provides more secure data protection along fiber routes. Rather than use traditional encryption methods, such as mathematical algorithms that can ultimately be broken, QKD  uses the properties of quantum mechanics to physically transfer data between two entities. It wraps an encryption key with a photonic quantum key — a photon’s multiple quantum states and no-observation attributes — to prevent a transmission from being interrupted or exposed.

Under the agreement, Quantum Xchange has reserved 15 colocation sites along the Northeast corridor.

“With high capacity, low latency and inherent security, Zayo’s dark fiber infrastructure is ideal for the nation’s first QKD network,” Jack Waters, CTO and president of Fiber Solutions at Zayo, said in a prepared statement. “We look forward to working with Quantum Xchange on this groundbreaking initiative.”