FYI:
My iPhone is struggling to activate iMessage service through the phone number. When I called VF, they said that there was an ongoing issue with Apple and that we had to wait a few days for them to fix some routing issue. Apparently messages are being sent to the iMessage server (the international SMS), but no confirmation is being received to enable service.
That said, I've now raked up a $10 bill in international SMSes - will VF reimburse me when it is a problem with your own systems/issues with Apple?