Pretty sure a version of this has existed in most countries only it wasn't due to a bug in the phone system but a feature that could cost you a pretty penny.
Indeed.
"A legend has it, the 'Clubhouse' of the USSR was first discovered by the fartsovschikis — people who traded in illegally obtained foreign-made goods in the USSR. They used the 'broadcasts' to connect to their accomplices and discuss business with impunity, knowing that their lcoation would be impossible to track as the number dialed was not assigned to any real user."