isr.co.ro : glossary Circuit Switching (CS) Making a network connection by providing a defined signal pathway between nodes rather than by breaking up a message into packets and sending each packet by whatever pathway seems best at that instant. The latter is called "packet switching". The standard telephone network was built on circuit switching, as are most cable TV systems. Circuit switching is simpler to design and can be implemented even with mechanical switches. But circuit switching also wastes capacity whenever a circuit runs at less than its maximum throughput. Consequently, most of the Internet is carried over packet-switched networks and, increasingly, so is the telephone network.