A consortium of German companies has developed the Tsunami Alarm System, a service that allows mobile users to receive a tsunami warning message via SMS.
Vodafone is offering the service to its subscribers in Germany.
Professor Eduard Heindil, one of the inventors of the system, said it works wherever there is a GSM signal and claimed it was the first of its kind in the world.
He said the potential market included tourists, business travelers, hotels and residents and businesses in coastal regions.
A one-year subscription to the service costs 29.95 euros while a one-month subscription is 9.95 euros. Once a user subscribes to the system via a Web site, they will receive a warning in the event of a tsunami alert.
Heindil would not disclose how many subscribers had signed up for the service since it launched in October.