An adaptive telecommunications system for transporting communication traffic over a network comprising a means for transmitting communication traffic between a plurality of devices through a network, monitoring the communication traffic between the plurality of devices, and a adaptively changing the mode of operation either before and/or during a call, based on at least one of instantaneous network changes, connection type characteristics, and type of communication traffic. The devices attached to the network may consist of, for example, a fax machine, phone, mobile phone, public branch network exchange, a computer, or a switch. The traffic traveling across the system, voice, fax, or data, for example, may be compressed and/or restricted based on the type of traffic. The system may fully replace the existing PSTN circuits or may be used for overflow when the existing PSTN circuits are at near or full capacity.