Characteristics

Channel capacity must be reserved upon opening a path
Switches must have the intelligence to allocate the capacity and to determine the routes.
Data is transmitted without delay, except for that required by the transmission media.
The channel capacity is reserved for the duration of the communication, also when data is not transmitted.
The network is transparent in the sense that once a path is established it seems to be direct to the attached parties, not requiring special networking logic by either party.
Examples: the public phone network, the private branch exchange (PBX) switches used by organizations