Transparent intelligent network for data and voice

Claim 1

A communications network having a plurality of peripheral and central communications nodes, a first plurality of terrestrial communications links connecting said central nodes directly to each other, a second plurality of terrestrial communications links individually connecting said peripheral nodes to said central nodes, means for connecting a plurality of customers to each peripheral node, certain of said means being effective to input data at a first given speed and certain others for inputting data at a different speed, developing means at each of said nodes for successively developing at a first repetition rate multi-user packets each containing data from at least two of said plurality of customers connected to that node, said developing means including means effective in a first mode for sampling data input from said customers at intervals directly related to their output speeds at the exit node and, when in another mode, effective upon the existence of available channel space, at speeds higher than said output speeds at the exit node, and means connected to said peripheral node for conducting said multi-user packets to other nodes within said network.