For many years, the Bell System (AT&T) maintained a monopoly on the use of its phone lines, and what devices could be connected to its lines. However, the seminal Hush-a-Phone v. FCC case of 1956 concluded that it was within the FCC's jurisdiction to regulate the operation of the System. Subsequently, the FCC examiner found that as long as the device was not electrically attached it would not threaten to degenerate the system. This led to a number of devices that mechanically connected to the phone, through a standard handset. Since most handsets were supplied from Western Electric, it was relatively easy to build such an acoustic coupler, and this style of connection was used for many devices like answering machines.