A heterogeneous mix of traffic having one or more protocol formats and supplied by one or more users or sub-networks is transported in a communication network by using digital containers that are routed and processed in network nodes interconnecting the users or sub-networks. A digital container includes a frame structure comprising a header section and a payload section, the header section including information for routing the digital container and for identifying the type of payload being carried. The payload section is capable of carrying one or more different types of traffic formatted according to one or more protocols, e.g., IP, ATM, and so on. Processing of the individual payload remains a user or sub-network responsibility while the less processor-intensive routing and processing of digital containers occurs at the network node level.