Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT) is a company with a global presence, including a research arm in Silicon Valley called NTT Research. This subsidiary is focusing on various scientific investigations related to optical networking, cybersecurity, AI, sustainability, logistics, manufacturing, and healthcare. With a budget of $3 billion annually, NTT Research is making significant investments in cutting-edge technologies.
One of the key areas of focus for NTT Research is the development of an All-Photonics Network (APN). This approach integrates optics-based technology into every network element, aiming to bring optical efficiency to the entire network infrastructure layer. The potential benefits of an APN include eliminating latency, improving power efficiency, and supporting real-time analytics and automation. This could have a profound impact on next-generation AI applications, addressing concerns related to energy consumption and sustainability.
NTT Research’s Innovative Optical and Wireless Network APN investigation is making progress towards its goal of commercialization by 2030. If successful, this research could revolutionize networking by improving energy efficiency and transmission capacity by 100 times. Additionally, NTT Research is reimagining security and data protection through its Security, Privacy, and Integrity Protection Platform (SPIP). SPIP aims to simplify data protection by incorporating advanced privacy technologies, such as attribute-based encryption and multi-party computation.
Attribute-based encryption (ABE) allows for data segregation so that users can access only what is necessary, while multi-party computation (MPC) enables joint functional computation while maintaining privacy through encryption. NTT Research’s secure computational system, San-Shi, divides data among multiple servers, ensuring that no single server can obtain a complete view of the information. This approach also maintains efficiency, with NTT Research indicating that San-Shi’s performance is equal to non-encrypted data processing.
As NTT Research continues its research efforts, the company is positioning itself as a leader in networking and security innovations. The need for more robust forms of networking and security will only increase as next-generation applications push the limits of existing technology infrastructure. NTT’s ambitious goals, such as the development of APN and SPIP, demonstrate a commitment to driving innovation in the industry. With its deep investments in groundbreaking research, NTT is poised to become a significant player in the technology space outside of Japan.
