Yes. Regarding technology, the US is not the only country in the world. Answer machines and wireless phones where introduced worldwide be many companies around that time. Technology evolved at that time quickly, transistor usage in consumer devices. For example at that time phone lines where controlled in Germany by the state owned "Deutsche Bundespost" (similiar to USPS) and there were a lot of heated debates between Chaos-Computer-Club (CCC) and them about what to connect to the lines or not. Finally CCC won through the privatization of Deutsche Post. Did they? A mere pyrrhic victory. The new private owner of the cable lines restrict what to connect so thightly by there marketpower that the same problem from late 80ies emerged again in 2010ies. We have now extra laws which requires free usage of modems and routers. The private companies still try to make it as hard as possible. The only company which makes it easy for the average customer to get a contract without a modem at all is "Deutsche Telekom" (a smaller successor company of Deutsche Bundespost). In other terms, it seems that well minded regulation is required in terms of peoples need. It may is a surprise but the same problem with "what can I connect" emerged with state owned companies, one big monopoly or multiple private companies.