An exemplary method for circuit emulation over a multi-packet label switching (MPLS) network comprises the steps of receiving a time division multiplexed data stream at an ingress end, dividing the data stream into a set of fixed sized packets, adding a service header to each of the packets, adding an additional header on top of the service header in accordance with MPLS protocols, removing the additional header after each packet has been processed by the MPLS network, and using the service header to recover the data stream at an egress end.