Whenever we travel overseas we call the carrier ahead of time and subscribe to the appropriate roaming package for the duration of the trip. Not super expensive as I recall. Certainly less than $143K.
Exactly. My wife and I have traveled to Israel, Italy, and elsewhere with our cell phones, and have just used the regional add-ons offered by most cell companies during our trips. I think they were about $100 per phone for up to a month of travel.