Key-Aware Link Selection for Quantum Wireless Networks: A Data-Driven
Study of Satellite-to-Ground QKD Access Links
Khaled Sh. Gaber1,∗, S. K. Towfek1
1Computer Science and Intelligent Systems Research Center, Blacksburg 24060, Virginia, USA
Emails: khsherif@jcsis.org; sktowfek@jcsis.org
Abstract
The application of quantum key distribution, satellite communication and programmable wireless access in future secure
wireless networks is anticipated to enhance secure communication infrastructure. But their realisation demands more than
just the physical realisation of quantum links. The network controller needs to determine when a quantum-secured wireless
link can be used to serve a request, how orbit type and weather conditions impact the volume of usable keys, and whether
the secure key rate is high enough to admit a route. In this paper, we introduce Q-SARA, a quantum-secure access and
routing admission model for satellite-assisted quantum wireless networks. It assesses candidate QKD access links with
secure key rate (SKR), quantum bit error rate (QBER), link loss, contact duration, visibility probability and propagation
delay. A smaller, pre-processed dataset is derived from the public Satellite-to-Ground QKD SKR dataset, which contains
the calculated key performance indicators for Low Earth Orbit, Medium Earth Orbit and Geostationary satellite-to-ground
QKD links using the prepare-and-measure and entanglement-based protocols. The empirical analysis examines 7,200
link-level data and assesses Q-SARA across orbit, protocol, optical ground station, elevation, atmospheric, and service
classes. The findings demonstrate that link selection based only on key volume can be misleading when assessing service
quality, while the multi-criteria score provides better balance between security, visibility and latency. LEO links have
better instantaneous key rates, GEO links have better visibility, and MEO links lie in between and can be exploited when
link quality and service are taken into account together. The results suggest that quantum wireless access should be
considered as a service admission problem rather than a physical-layer key generation problem.
Keywords: Quantum wireless networks; Quantum key distribution; Satellite QKD; Secure key rate; QBER; 6G security;
link selection; Wireless access