Next generation terrestrial lightwave terminals must do more than transport digital information from one location to another. FT-2000, AT&T's newest high-capacity lightwave transmission system, is designed to meet the needs of customers into the next century. It combines a flexible hardware platform and a powerful software-based architecture. As an intelligent lightwave system, FT-2000 can operate in sophisticated self-healing networks, and is managed by an advanced control system that simplifies installing, provisioning, monitoring, and maintaining it. It is fully compliant with the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) optical interface standard, the Synchronous Optical Network (SONET). We explore the broad range of applications and customer needs that drove the specification of FT-2000, and present the architectural solution that achieves the flexibility to meet those specifications.