Open Intercom web interface during a live production call, showing channels, push-to-talk and call controls in the browser — The Open Intercom web interface during a live production call — no hardware panel required.

The challenge

Traditional intercom systems carry high capital costs, proprietary panels and matrices, and a heavy hardware dependence — a complexity built for the very largest productions. In practice, that complexity is rarely needed. As a technical producer at SVT put it: "Only about 5% of our productions really require the complexity of traditional intercom hardware. The other 95% could easily be done with something far simpler."

The question became: why stay locked into expensive, proprietary systems when open source can offer more flexibility and control?

What Eyevinn built

Open Intercom is a browser-based VoIP intercom built on open standards and WebRTC, using Symphony Media Bridge (an SFU) to route audio with minimal latency. Anyone with a browser can join a production intercom circuit — no hardware, no IT configuration.

Sub-200 ms latency over any IP network — teams coordinate live from anywhere in the world.
No hardware, no IT setup — any device with a browser connects.
End-to-end encryption, SIP for hybrid workflows, WHIP/WHEP (ingest from e.g. OBS), a Ravenna bridge, SRT bridging and virtual audio cards to coexist with existing infrastructure.
Production integrations: control via an Elgato Stream Deck (Bitfocus Companion module) and a spec-compliant WebRTC player.
AI-native provisioning: works with any MCP-compatible client and a built-in admin AI assistant.
Delivered as a managed service on Eyevinn Open Source Cloud — a production-ready backend in minutes.

Diagram showing how WHIP brings an external audio source into an Open Intercom call without dedicated hardware — WHIP brings external audio sources (such as OBS) into a call without dedicated hardware.

It was a true partnership: the broadcasters brought real-world needs and operational insight from their production teams; Eyevinn brought modern software engineering, open-source expertise and a readiness to rethink how broadcast intercom works.

The results

The managed Professional plan is €69/month excl. VAT for unlimited productions — around €4,100 over five years, with no installation, maintenance or upgrade cost. A traditional hardware intercom is a capital purchase, with panels and matrices to install, maintain and eventually replace. Which works out cheaper depends on the size of the installation you would be replacing, so compare it against your own five-year cost rather than a list price.

Deploy in minutes, not weeks.
In production at SVT for both remote and on-site live production. Examples: remote spotting at ski events via volunteers on their smartphones; self-produced live sport where a single editor handles both vision-switching and commentary coordination; rapid field deployment for breaking news.
Broad open-source traction — the Open Intercom repositories have 80+ and 60+ stars on GitHub, and the solution is listed in the EU open-source catalogue.

"Open Intercom has transformed how we handle remote production. The cloud-based approach gives us the flexibility and reliability we need for live broadcasting, without the complexity and cost of traditional hardware intercom systems."

— Dennis Buhr, Technical Manager, Sveriges Television (SVT)

Open Intercom participant list showing an external audio source joining a production call — Participants and an external audio source in one call.

How to get Open Intercom — three options

1. Managed on Open Source Cloud (hosted)

A 14-day free trial with no commitment, then the Professional plan at €69/month (excl. VAT) for unlimited productions, cancel anytime. If you need to connect to existing hardware or SDI gear, a Media Bridge add-on is available (pricing on request, depending on your setup).

2. Self-hosted (open source)

Open Intercom is fully open source under the MIT license (github.com/Eyevinn/intercom-manager) with zero vendor lock-in. Run it on your own infrastructure, another cloud, or on-premises at no licence cost.

3. Custom build with Eyevinn

If you want it tailored to your needs — a branded desktop or mobile app, deeper integrations, or a specific deployment — our team can take that on as a paid consulting engagement on top of the open-source core. We scope it together and quote based on your requirements.

Start the 14-day free trial →

Built with the Nordic public broadcasters

Open Intercom was developed in partnership with SVT (Sweden), YLE (Finland), NRK (Norway) and TV2 (Norway) — four public-service broadcasters in four countries collaborating in open source on the same solution. Intensive development ran from late 2024 and continues today, with software-based audio ingest (WHIP) reaching general availability and Ravenna support added since.

The work draws on WebRTC and real-time audio, broadcast production, SFU (Symphony Media Bridge), full-stack engineering (React/TypeScript, Node.js/Fastify, Go), open-source architecture and Open Source Cloud. Eyevinn engineers Sandra Larsson (Frontend Developer) and Lucas Maupin (Full Stack Developer) lead the ongoing, AI-assisted development.

See how we orchestrate media workflows with AI →

Talk to the team behind Open Intercom

Want to try it on a real production, connect it to your existing gear, or have us build a tailored version? Start the free trial yourself, or tell us about your setup — roughly how many simultaneous participants, whether you need hardware/SDI integration, and which platforms matter most — and we will recommend the right option.

Start the 14-day free trial → Talk to us about your setup →