Network of switches and payload of telecommunications satellite comprising a network of switches

A telecommunications satellite payload, comprising:

• one or more networks of switches each of said one or more networks comprising:
• connection switches arranged to provide N input accesses and M output accesses to the network,
• N and M being integers, N being a number of input accesses and M being a total number of output accesses,
• where P output accesses are selected from the M total output accesses, P being an integer, P≦N, and P≦M,
• each connection switch of the network having four ports and at least two different selectable states that correspond to an establishment of different internal connections between the four ports, and at least one of said four ports connected to provide one of said N input accesses or one of said M output accesses, said connection switches arranged as one or more stages of switches, each stage of switches including:
• a pair of lines of interconnection switches, each line being a set of said interconnection switches connected to one another, and each of said interconnection switches having four ports, none of which are connected as input or output accesses to the network, and
• transverse arms linking the interconnection switches of different lines of a same stage, each transverse arm consisting of elements that are separate from those of the other transverse arms of the same stage, and each transverse arm comprising a transverse switch that has at least two links and one switch,
• wherein at least two of said transverse switches from different ones of said transverse arms of each of said one or more stages are connection switches of the network,
• wherein at least one interconnection switch of a first line of any stage of said one or more stages is connected by an inter-line link to an interconnection switch of a second line of the same stage or of a line of another stage of the network, each inter-line link being a link having no switch, and
• wherein transponders are connected to the input accesses of said network of switches, and transponders are connected to the output accesses of said network of switches.