Quantum technologies have the potential to improve in an unprecedented way the security and efficiency of communications in network infrastructures. We discuss photonic implementations, using encoding in discrete or continuous properties of light, of central quantum network protocols, enabling secret key distribution, flipping coins in the presence of bias, and fingerprinting with real data sets, featuring a provable quantum advantage in security or use of communication resources with respect to their classical counterparts. We also describe our efforts towards the miniaturization of the developed systems and their integration into telecommunication network infrastructures, including with satellite links. These advances enrich the resources and applications of the emerging quantum networks that will play a central role in the context of future global-scale quantum-safe communications.
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