The thesis presents the basics of Quantum Key Distribution, a survey of the present techniques, a look at the possible future, and finally a comparison to the alternative technique of using public key or manual distribution of keys.

Techniques to integrate QKD with the existing telecom fiber infrastructure have been studied, and so has the EU-funded project SECOQC.

Last the security and efficiency of QKD have been examined, with focus on what level of security that is required, existing security solutions have been used as a comparison.