The present invention provides a system, apparatus and method to efficiently switch from one modulation format to another modulation format based upon a current route or path through a network topology of a network communication system. According to various embodiments of the invention, a network topology map is generated identifying one of a plurality of paths upon which a data stream is transmitted from a transmitter to a receiver within a network, the transmitter transmitting the data in a respective one of a plurality of data modulation formats. One or more characteristics related to one of the plurality of optical paths is measured and, based upon such measurement, a desired modulation format is selected. Upon a change in the network topology, the process is repeated such that the modulation format is continuously optimized with respect to the network topology.