AbstractA broadband switching experiment was presented at the ISS'87 and Telecom'87 conferences in Phoenix, Arizona, and Geneva, Switzerland, respectively and at the March 1988 Fair in Hanover, West Germany. This experiment was significant in that it illustrated techniques for switching broadband signals with a wide range of frequencies, formats and ultimate purposes. In particular, simultaneous switching (within the same switch fabric) of 30 MHz PFM, 45 Mb/s PCM, and 140 Mb/s PCM was demonstrated. These signals carried full‐motion, full‐colour NTSC video for desk‐to‐desk video teleconferencing, off‐the‐air broadcast video programming, and surveillance camera video. They also carried RGB video, digitized stored video images, and computer‐computer communications. Software features afforded a friendly human interface, allowing multiple, flexible service capabilities. Further, the experimental system, when deployed in Phoenix, demonstrated control of its capabilities via a narrowband ISDN link to an optically remoted 5ESS® switch module one km distant, which homed on a 5ESS host switch about 32 km further away. The technologies employed in the switch and the surrounding equipment are detailed, and the significance of this experiment relative to the broadband ISDN (BISDN) thinking is discussed.