A method and system of setting up a call over a circuit or packet switched network. Network elements exchange an automode sequence of signals to determine a modulation that both devices support and that will be used for the connection between them. The two elements may exchange the automode signals end-to-end, and then switch to a modulation scheme by negotiating an appropriate modulation or one supported by both endpoints. Alternately, each element can execute a split automode sequence with a separate network endpoint to determine the modulation to be used between the network elements. The network elements and network endpoints may negotiate a modulation scheme by exchanging integers that are indicative of the capabilities of the network elements to determine which supported modulation scheme is most desirable in the particular configuration of the elements.