Reference
ACROSS – Ultra-low-latency Media Network
A shared ultra-low-latency media network expanding high-quality music education and theatre production across the Stockholm and Åland archipelagos, through the EU Central Baltic ACROSS project.
“Mediatrade doesn’t only supply high-end media infrastructure; they translate complex, ultra-low-latency technology into something our teachers and students can use without a second thought.”
Ian Plaude
Vice-Chancellor / Principal, Stockholms Musikpedagogiska Institut (SMI)
Lead Partner, Central Baltic EU Project ACROSS
For music education, latency matters. A lesson depends on timing, interaction and the subtle connection between teacher and student. Conventional video conferencing can bring people together visually, but even a small delay can make playing music together anywhere from difficult to impossible.
The ACROSS project set out to change that. Led by Stockholm University College of Music Education (SMI) together with partners across Sweden and Åland, ACROSS is building new ways to provide high-quality music education and cultural activities to communities where geography has traditionally limited access. Mediatrade was selected as the technical solution partner responsible for turning that ambition into an operational media network.
Building the network
At the foundation of ACROSS is a professional, ultra-low-latency media network based on Net Insight Nimbra technology. Mediatrade designed and delivered the network infrastructure, including eight Nimbra 640 and three Nimbra 1060 platforms, providing reliable transport for high-quality video and audio between participating locations.
But moving signals between locations was only the beginning. For the network to become genuinely useful for teachers, students, actors and musicians, the technology at each location needed to provide a consistent and intuitive experience. Mediatrade therefore designed and implemented 14 Remote Stations as standardized endpoints for the ACROSS network.
Each Remote Station brings together the audiovisual technology required for remote teaching and artistic collaboration into an integrated environment. Instead of users having to understand the broadcast infrastructure behind the connection, they can focus on the lesson, rehearsal or performance itself.
“In music education, milliseconds matter — you simply cannot teach ensemble-playing or nuanced technique over conventional, lagging video connections. Connecting remote communities through a synchronized media network is a major technical hurdle, but Mediatrade made the entire operational experience seamless for us. By pairing robust hardware with a straightforward booking interface and dependable technical support, our educators don’t need to be broadcast engineers — they just book a session, connect, and teach.
Ian Plaude
Vice-Chancellor / Principal, Stockholms Musikpedagogiska Institut (SMI)
Lead Partner, Central Baltic EU Project ACROSS
From professional media technology to an everyday tool
A distributed network also creates another challenge: how do users book locations, connections and network resources without needing a technician every time? Mediatrade solved this with its own Medialink Booking App.
Accessible from a tablet or web browser, the Medialink Booking App provides a simple interface for booking and managing sessions across the ACROSS network. Behind that simple user experience is professional media infrastructure connecting multiple organisations and locations.
For the user, however, the complexity disappears. Simply:
- Select the session.
- Select the locations.
- Book the connection.
And the network takes care of the rest.
Technology that enables presence
The result is more than a remote teaching system. ACROSS demonstrates how professional media networks can make specialist knowledge and cultural services accessible regardless of geography or technical prowess. A teacher and student can be separated by sea and hundreds of kilometres — yet still share a musical moment in real time.
For Mediatrade, ACROSS demonstrates the power of user-centered design in complex media environments: professional-grade technology underneath, effortless human interaction on top.
“Mediatrade’s engineering expertise and hands-on service have given SMI and our partners the confidence that the technology will work, every single time. Mediatrade doesn’t only supply high-end media infrastructure; they translate complex, ultra-low-latency technology into something our teachers and students can use without a second thought.
Thanks to their remote stations and Medialink Booking App, as well as their commitment to ongoing support and development, teachers and students across Sweden and Åland can make music together in real time as if they were sitting in the same room.”
Ian Plaude
Vice-Chancellor / Principal, Stockholms Musikpedagogiska Institut (SMI)
Lead Partner, Central Baltic EU Project ACROSS
Connecting beyond the archipelago
The ACROSS network has also been interconnected with ANSEL, a parallel EU-funded initiative developing ultra-low-latency media connectivity across the northern regions of Finland, Sweden and Norway.
Together, the two projects now form an interconnected media infrastructure spanning the Nordic North and the Stockholm and Åland archipelagos, creating new opportunities for real-time collaboration between participating educational and cultural institutions.
Both networks were delivered by Mediatrade, demonstrating how professional media technology can be scaled across geographical and organisational boundaries.
Mediatrade’s role:
- Operational technical support and service maintenance
- Technical solution partner
- Network architecture and system design
- Net Insight Nimbra infrastructure
- 14 Remote Stations
- System integration and deployment
- Medialink Booking App
More info on ACROSS:
- Official page for ACROSS sekä Demo Day in Helsinki
- Remote North news ja videos
- Riksteatern and the Three Rooms show
- Net Insightin presentation regarding ACROSS
