Are there really subscription plans where merely turning a phone on and receiving an SMS incurs roaming charges?<p>Typically people just disable &quot;data roaming&quot; when travelling internationally, at least until one reaches and can lock to a &quot;friendly&quot; 3G&#x2F;4G network. Thus there are no charges for IP traffic including MMS, and SMS reception is always free because you cannot turn it off.<p>(I still agree that WLAN at German airports is abysmal and at restaurants practically non-existent. Another downside of Germany is the unavailability of Google Street View.)