CONNECTIONLESS NETWORK EXPRESS ROUTE

A priority routing service is provided for a predetermined network user in a connectionless network such as an IP network. The network comprises a plurality of network elements and links therebetween and the express route comprises one or more links between two elements. Elements at each end of the express route are arranged to identify packets originating from the user and destined for a customer, or to identify data packets originating from a customer and destined for the user, and to divert data packets along the express route. This allows traffic to/from the users to avoid bottlenecks in the network.