1:00 PM -- Here's a sign of the times.

Philip Wilton, classic Englishman and extremely personable European sales director at Redback Networks Inc. , which is now doing its IP thang as part of the Ericsson AB (Nasdaq: ERIC) empire, tells Light Reading that some customers are now citing a new metric when asking about product capabilities. (See Redback Targets 30% Market Share and IPTV Drives Ericsson to Redback.)

"Some are now asking, 'How many subscribers per kilowatt?' " when checking out the specs of Redback's gear.

The next question must surely be, "And does that router come with a wind turbine?"

— Ray Le Maistre, Carbon Handprint Editor, Light Reading