Abstract: Modular digital exchanges linked by earth satellite provide coordinated time division switching and time compressed communication services relative to externally attached telephone and data (user) trunks. Branch exchange modules (NCU's) perform call switching, buffer storage, time compression and activity selective channel assignment handling between individual external user trunks and multi-bit channels of external time division highways (digital links). The latter are linked pyramidally to time division multiple access nodes of the satellite through Network (Nodal) Access Unit modules (NAU's) which perform further time compression handling and adaptive assignment of satellite channels based upon nodal distribution of demand. The NCU modules also provide "local" switching between user trunks and "tandem" linkage directly between NCU's (without NAU and satellite handling).