Scalable, Real-Time Intercom in the Cloud

Live media production teams rely on ultra-low-latency communication audio for coordination. Traditionally tied to on-prem multicast networks, scaling that infrastructure to the cloud has been a major challenge. A recent AWS blog post, co-authored by John Schur, our President of Media Solutions, highlights a successful solution built in partnership with Telos Alliance and swXtch.io, bringing multicast-powered, real-time audio for Telos Infinity VIP virtual intercom systems to AWS environments.

Video, audio, and Telos Infinity VIP intercom control in one compact workspace, made possible by swXtch.io and Telos Alliance (Courtesy of Chess.com)

Multicast Foundation
Multicast is a natural fit for live media workflows because it delivers audio streams to multiple users without consuming extra bandwidth. Devices can dynamically join or leave streams using IGMP, making it easy to manage participation in real time. Unlike unicast, multicast scales naturally and supports the low latency required for real-time intercom.

Standards-Based Compatibility
This approach uses open industry standards such as SMPTE ST 2110‑30 and AES67 for uncompressed multicast audio, ensuring interoperability with a wide range of professional systems. AWS Time Sync Service provides precise clock timing that keeps audio streams aligned across devices in the cloud, which is critical for preventing drift or dropouts in time-sensitive intercom conversations during live events.

Seamless Hybrid Architecture
swXtch.io’s cloudSwXtch overlay brings multicast functionality to AWS, where native multicast networking isn’t supported. It does this by creating a virtual network layer that emulates multicast behavior, allowing audio devices and software in the cloud to subscribe to and distribute streams just as they would on a local network. This makes it possible to run large-scale multi-node Telos Infinity VIP natively in AWS without rewriting existing workflows. For connectivity between on-prem systems and the cloud, often referred to as ground-to-cloud-to-ground (GCCG), broadcasters can use tools like Telos Infinity Link, AWS Direct Connect, or other high-bandwidth network bridges, depending on infrastructure and available bandwidth. 

Reliable, Scalable Results
The system delivers end-to-end latency of approximately 150 milliseconds, well within the threshold for real-time communication. It also scales to support hundreds of virtual intercom panels and audio streams, making it suitable for both large-scale live events and longer-term installations. In a hybrid deployment, where part of the intercom or production audio system runs on-prem and part in the cloud, real-time audio can be exchanged between environments using Telos Infinity Link software, which provides a low-latency, broadcast-ready transport path that bridges physical and virtual infrastructure.

Why This Matters
This approach is more than just a technical milestone. It's a practical way to help you evolve operations and workflows at your own pace. By combining cloud flexibility with tools engineers already know, this collaboration helps reduce complexity, preserve audio quality, and create a smoother path toward future infrastructure upgrades.

How Can We Help You?
Fast, reliable comms for live remote production are a more essential piece of the REMI puzzle today than ever before. To help address this need, Telos Alliance and swXtch.io recently formalized a reseller partnership following the success of a major global deployment using this multicast-in-the-cloud approach. Together, we’re here to support broadcasters as they tackle new challenges and explore new possibilities.

Whether you're extending on-prem intercom systems or building out cloud-based workflows, we’re ready to listen. We’ll work with you to find the best-fit architecture for your team, timeline, and technical needs.

To explore the technical details and see how this approach performed in the field, check out the full AWS Media & Entertainment blog: “Enabling Real-Time Audio Using Multicast on AWS.”

And when you're ready to discuss your next steps, we’re all ears.