Abstract: This disclosure provides methods for processing and routing bursts in an integrated communications system. In a preferred embodiment, the system includes a plurality of switches interconnected by time-divided communications links and a plurality of ports, each port being a component of a switch and each link having processing capacity sufficient to support T1 or higher transmission rates. Each port provides access to the system for a control processor, an end-user, or another communications system. Each switch has switching intelligence for routing a burst toward its destination port. A burst is a plurality of bytes which may represent a block of data or a spurt of voice energy as sensed by silence/voice detectors located at voice ports. In the methods provided by the invention, a burst may be introduced into the system through a port, routed through a switch to an outgoing link, or received from the system at a port. Within links, a burst is transmitted byte-by-byte in assigned channels of sequential frames.