Telecommunication networks have been and are in a process of extremely rapid evolution reflecting the interaction between a fast pace of technological progress and a complex socio-economic environment. This justifies the interest in using multicriteria modelling and analysis in decision processes associated with various phases of network planning and design, particularly concerning the development of routing models of multidimensional nature. Based on an overview of evolutions in telecommunication network technologies and services we begin by identifying the motivating factors for the increasing interest in multicriteria routing models. An overview of a significant number of contributions on this area is presented followed by a description of a novel bi-level hierarchical multicriteria routing optimisation model for multiservice communication networks and its application to a video traffic routing problem. Finally we outline some conclusions and future trends.