Quantum multipath bonding for resilient connectivity

AE Quantum · Digital and Cloud Networks Research Platform

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Mike Swain presents a layered stack that bonds Multipath TCP transport, hybrid Quantum Key Distribution with post-quantum cryptography, and laboratory Bell-state traffic intelligence — keeping maritime, mining, and enterprise sessions alive when any single path degrades.

10.5281/zenodo.22219465Mike SwainTaurnet 1.0
Bonded paths
3
Starlink · 5G · Fiber laboratory mix
Throughput
250 Mbps
Active bonded session snapshot
Latency
15 ms
Engine health probe
Security stack
QKD+PQC
BB84 · ML-KEM · ML-DSA hybrid keys

Our work

Quantum Multipath Bonding: MPTCP, QKD, and Hybrid Traffic Intelligence

Research Paper
Mike Swain · Æ Hive · AE Quantum Research Division

Modern fleets and remote sites outgrow single-path IP. This article bonds multipath transport on RFC 8684 MPTCP, a quantum security layer combining QKD with FIPS 203/204 post-quantum primitives, and a cautious intelligence layer that explores hybrid quantum-classical traffic models alongside classical fallbacks.

LatestMPTCPQKDPQC

Four-plane stack — data, control, security, intelligence

Figure 1
Independent hardening with graceful fallbacks per plane
Architecture

Laboratory telemetry — bonded interfaces and engine health

Dashboard
Link active · quantum ready health probe
Console
Open access archive on ZenodoRead more research on our hub

Results & figures

Table 1. Architectural planes and failure behaviour
PlaneResponsibilityGraceful fallback
DataForwarding on the hot pathRemaining interface continues as ordinary IP
ControlMPTCP lifecycle and schedulingWeighted round-robin or lowest-RTT
SecurityQKD where available; PQC elsewhereML-KEM / ML-DSA only
IntelligenceForecast and anomaly scoresFreeze last known-good weights
Table 2. Laboratory bonded-path inventory
NameKindBindTarget
Starlinksatellite127.0.0.1:9001127.0.0.1:10001
5Gcellular127.0.0.1:9002127.0.0.1:10002
Fiberterrestrial127.0.0.1:9003127.0.0.1:10003
Table 3. Bell-state path-optimization snapshot
ItemValue
Algorithmbell_state_path_optimization
Shots1024
Count of 00479
Count of 11545
Selected pathFiber
Four-plane stack: intelligence, security, control, and data
Figure 1. Four-plane stack — data, control, security, and intelligence planes with independent hardening and graceful fallbacks.
Bonded paths from session through scheduler to three interfaces
Figure 2. Bonded paths — laboratory engine bonding three UDP paths (Starlink, 5G, Fiber).
Laboratory console telemetry tiles
Figure 3. Laboratory telemetry — link status, throughput, latency, engine mode, and health from the bonding status service.
Hybrid quantum and post-quantum key management
Figure 4. Hybrid key management — QKD when a pass delivers key material; otherwise ML-KEM authenticated with ML-DSA.
BB84 sifting pipeline between Alice and Bob
Figure 5. BB84 sifting — decoy-state protocol with Shor–Preskill abort threshold when QBER exceeds ~11%.
Bell-state count histogram for path selection
Figure 6. Bell-state counts — laboratory path picker using 00 vs 11 histogram (1024 shots).
MPTCP scheduler weight formula illustration
Figure 7. Scheduler weights — starting point weight_i = bandwidth_i / (latency_i + ε) with fast reinjection on head-of-line blocking.

Open access · Quantum Multipath Bonding Research

Mike Swain · Æ Hive · doi:10.5281/zenodo.22219465 · AE Quantum Research Division · Digital and Cloud Networks

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Tools + Code

Research Paper

Quantum Multipath Bonding — MPTCP bonding, hybrid QKD/PQC key management, and Bell-state path optimization.

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Taurnet 1.0

Live laboratory console — bonding status, Bell-state optimize, BB84 generate via /api/taurnet.

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Laboratory Dashboard

Console snapshot — link status, throughput, latency, and bonded Starlink · 5G · Fiber paths.

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Bell-State Path Picker

Laboratory mechanism for subflow selection from 00/11 count histograms (1024 shots).

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BB84 Sifting Service

Decoy-state BB84 sifting pipeline with Shor–Preskill abort thresholds for hybrid keys.

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