Complex sentence: Prior to this, there was little in the way of technology; under half of its population had a phone line and the only method of communication with those outside of the country that it controlled was a Finnish phone hidden in the garden of the foreign minister.
Split into simpler sentences: Prior to this, there was little in the way of technology. Under half of its population had a phone line and the only method of communication with those outside the country was a Finnish phone hidden in the garden of the foreign minister.