There is a growing concern that the Internet trans- port layer has become ossified in the face of emerging novel applications, and that further evolution has become very difficult. This paper identifies requirements for a new transport layer and then proposes a conceptual architecture, the NEAT system, that we believe is both flexible and evolvable. Applications interface the NEAT system through an enhanced user API that decouples them from the operation of the transport protocols and the network features being used. In particular, applications provide the NEAT system with information about their traffic requirements, pre- specified policies, and measured network conditions. On the basis of this information, the NEAT system establishes and configures appropriate connections.