iMessenger
i need to be able to send messages via my iPad to my contacts.
iPhone 7 Plus, iOS 13
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Unless you also have an iPhone, your iPad cannot send or receive SMS or MMS messages to phone numbers - as these are Cellular Carrier features. Without an iPhone, your iPad is limited to sending/receiving messages via the Apple-proprietary Messages App.
Native iMessages are directed to Apple recipients by their registered email addresses - and not by their Cellular phone numbers. The Cellular number associated with your iPad’s Data-SIM is only used for account identification and billing purposes.
To use SMS/MMS messaging from the iPad Messages App, your iPhone must be logged-in to iCloud with the same AppleID - and message forwarding to your iPad must be enabled on the iPhone.
https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT208386
I hope this is helpful in clarifying your iPads Messaging features.