  Quantum communication holds the promise of creating disruptive technologies
that will play an essential role in future communication networks. For example,
the study of quantum communication complexity has shown that quantum
communication allows exponential reductions in the information that must be
transmitted to solve distributed computational tasks. Recently, protocols that
realize this advantage using optical implementations have been proposed. Here
we report a proof of concept experimental demonstration of a quantum
fingerprinting system that is capable of transmitting less information than the
best known classical protocol. Our implementation is based on a modified
version of a commercial quantum key distribution system using off-the-shelf
optical components over telecom wavelengths, and is practical for messages as
large as 100 Mbits, even in the presence of experimental imperfections. Our
results provide a first step in the development of experimental quantum
communication complexity.
