For example, in telecommunications, the services and applications accessible on a cell phone on any given wireless device were formerly tightly controlled by the mobile operators.
This has long been a central issue constraining the telecommunications sector, as developers face huge hurdles in making their applications available to end-users.
[citation needed] In a more extreme example, the regulated 1970s American telephone system, Bell, owned all the hardware (including all phones) and had indirect control over the information sent through their infrastructure.
However, in the landmark case Hush-A-Phone v. United States, Bell unsuccessfully sued a company producing plastic telephone attachments.
More generally, a walled garden can refer to a closed or exclusive set of information services provided for users.