  Typical elements of quantum networks are made by identical systems, which are
the basic particles constituting a resource for quantum information processing.
Whether the indistinguishability due to particle identity is an exploitable
quantum resource remains an open issue. Here we study independently prepared
identical particles showing that, when they spatially overlap, an operational
entanglement exists which can be made manifest by means of separated localized
measurements. We prove this entanglement is physical in that it can be directly
exploited to activate quantum information protocols, such as teleportation.
These results establish that particle indistinguishability is a utilizable
quantum feature and open the way to new quantum-enhanced applications.
