Composite photo taken on Nov 9, 2016 shows a satellite-to-earth link established between quantum satellite "Micius" and the quantum communication ground station in Xinglong, North China's Hebei province. [Photo/Xinhua]

Sophisticated devices called "quantum repeaters" could in theory be chained together to receive, store and retransmit the quantum data across longer distances, much like a cell tower, but this task is so difficult that such systems remain largely theoretical.

"It will still take more than a decade for the technology to reach the market," said Pan.