D-Wave Quantum (QBTS) shares jumped more than 20% on Monday after AT&T signed an agreement to expand the use of D-Wave's quantum computing technology across its network operations. The deal gives AT&T access to D-Wave's annealing quantum systems for complex optimization challenges — and the early results are turning heads.
What AT&T is doing with D-Wave
AT&T plans to layer D-Wave's annealing quantum systems into the agentic AI tools that already run parts of its network. Those AI tools cut customer downtime by 12 million hours in 2025. Now the telecom giant wants quantum to handle even more: outage detection, technician routing, network build planning, and traffic management. AT&T is also evaluating D-Wave's upcoming gate-model systems for quantum security and communications. Financial terms weren't disclosed.
From one hour to 15 seconds
In early work on a network optimization workload, the time dropped from roughly one hour to under 15 seconds. That kind of speedup is exactly what Charles Edwards, a D-Wave executive, pointed to. “Quantum technology is used TODAY. A 1hr task cut to 15 seconds at AT&T. These are the kind of innovations quantum is going to deliver across every industry in the next 5 years,” he said.
Why the timeline matters
Daniela Herrmann noted that expectations for quantum computing have shortened dramatically. In 2024 the common forecast was 30 years out. By 2025 it had dropped to 15-20 years. Now in 2026, the range is 3-5-10 years. That compression matters beyond telecom — falling qubit requirements could eventually threaten Bitcoin's cryptography, though that's not an immediate concern.
Stock reaction and what's next
QBTS closed Monday at $19.51, up 20.36%. The rally broke a descending trendline that had capped the price since June 2 and reclaimed support around $18. Trading volume spiked sharply. Next resistance sits near $21.50 and $24.50. The stock is still well below its late-May peak above $31. A close above $21.50 could signal a lasting reversal. Rejection there may send the price back toward the $18 area. For now, the market is watching whether AT&T's real-world results convince other telecoms to follow.
