Abstract: An adaptive apparatus and method for managing a playout buffer (POB) in an edge node of a packet-based data communications network, such as an ATM network, in order to reduce the end-to-end communication delay introduced thereby and to allow the POB filling level to be corrected in the event of clock speed differences. A monitoring mechanism determines if the minimum filling level of the playout buffer over a time period whereby the average filling level of the playout buffer is reduced according to the minimum filling level of the playout buffer over the time period.