( CNN ) -- Text messaging is one of the popular ways to communicate these days . However , unlike most wireless carriers in the rest of the world , U.S. wireless companies tend to double-charge customers for texts : They charge both for sending texts and for delivering each text message . This can be annoying , especially for the vast majority of people who do n't have smartphones . If you 're looking to save money on texting , or if you just think those double charges are silly , there are some ways to avoid them -- at least the charge for sending a text message . While plans that include unlimited texting are popular , many budget-conscious cell phone users have plans with text-message limits -- and they face extra charges if they exceed those limits . Also , many phones ( especially pre-paid ones ) charge per message , and the cost for this can be steep . For instance , a T-Mobile prepaid plan charges `` 10 cents to send a text and 5 cents to receive in the U.S. and Canada ; 35 cents to send and 5 cents to receive everywhere else . '' Not only can you send a text message via e-mail from your computer , but also from any e-mail-enabled phone . Most phones , even inexpensive feature phones , can send and receive e-mail messages . Also , wireless carriers designate an e-mail address for any e-mail enabled phone -- so you do n't need to worry about linking your computer-based e-mail to your phone service if you do n't want to . Sometimes , wireless carriers tack on fees to enable e-mail on your phone , so ask your carrier about this and make sure you know how to send and receive regular e-mails on your phone first . To send a text message by e-mail you need to know which wireless carrier the recipient of your message uses . So ask the people your regularly send text messages to which carrier they use . Then , look up how you would reformat each of their phone number/carrier pairs as an e-mail address . Each wireless carrier has an e-mail-to-SMS gateway , with a special format to accept incoming e-mail messages and route them as text messages to cell phones . Here are the formats for the four major U.S. carriers . In each of these , for `` N '' substitute the recipient 's 10-digit phone number ( include the area code -- but do n't include hyphens or other space separating characters ) : . AT & T Wireless : N @ txt.att.net SprintPCS : N @ messaging.sprintpcs.com T-Mobile : N @ tmomail.net Verizon : N @ vtext.com MuTube has a more complete list of e-mail-to-SMS address formats , for carriers in North America and around the world . Next , add entries to your e-mail address book ( on your phone and on your computer or web-based e-mail service ) for each person to whom you regularly send text messages , once you find out which carrier they 're on . Keep your messages brief . Text-message-length limits still apply , even though you 're originating the message from e-mail . Carriers have different length limits for text messages , but Twitter 's limit of 140 characters plays nice with most North American wireless carriers ' texting limits . If your message exceeds the allowed number of characters , the delivered text message may get truncated or split into multiple messages ( perhaps resulting in multiple charges ) . Your recipients probably would not be pleased by this . Write your entire text message in the subject line of your e-mail . Leave the message body blank -- and be sure to remove any automated signature text your e-mail program might supply . Most e-mail-to-SMS gateways will transmit both the e-mail subject line and message body within the delivered text message . However , since you want to keep your message very short anyway , it 's easier to just get in the habit of typing your text message in the subject line and deleting everything from the message body . Before you send someone a text by e-mail , let them know you 're going to try doing this , so they 'll expect your message . Remember : The first time they receive a text that you send via e-mail , it wo n't be coming from your regular phone number . They may not recognize that it 's from you , and might mistake your message for spam or an error and delete it without reading it . Also note that when you send a text message via e-mail , if the recipient hits `` reply , '' their reply message usually will get routed back to the e-mail account from which you sent it . It 's smart to test this out , too . Finally , remind your recipients to notify you if they switch to a different wireless carrier . People can port their phone number from one carrier to another -- but when they change carriers , the format for their e-mail-to-text address will change , so you 'll want to update that information in your address book . Getting set up to send text messages by e-mail involves a little bit of up-front work . And there are other drawbacks . Straightforward e-mail-to-e-mail messages do n't always provide mobile push notifications , such as alert sounds , especially on feature phones . But the effort can be worth it if you text certain people frequently . It 's useful if you want to be sure they get instant notification of your message wherever they are . This strategy is especially useful to send text messages to groups -- such as parents of the kids in a hockey team , or a carpool group , or everyone in your immediate family . You could even use this strategy to publish text alerts to large audiences ( such as a political candidate 's supporters , or people who sign up to get local news alerts by text ) . It 's generally simpler to designate groups of e-mail addresses than groups of SMS recipients on your phone . Also , it 's fairly private -- when you use e-mail to send text messages to a group , each recipient sees only your contact information , not the contact information for the other recipients . If you must contact large groups of people via SMS , avoiding carrier charges for sending text messages can significantly improve the economics of group communication . And it 's simpler and more reliable to send your group text alerts directly than to count on a third-party service like Twitter Fast Follow . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Amy Gahran .
U.S. wireless carriers tend to double-charge customers for texts . Plans with unlimited texting are popular , but many find this option too expensive . You can send a text message via e-mail from any e-mail-enabled phone .