Vodafone is claiming that in Portugal with its mobile TV offering it had just as successful World Cup as its Iberian neighbour's elegantly passing football team.

The mobile operator says that that the progression of the Portugal national team into the last sixteen of the World Cup, were they were knockout round by eventual winners Spain, spurred tremendous interest in the convenience of viewing World Cup games on mobile phones.

The ubiquity of mobile phones and the freedom to watch programming anywhere were cited as the key drivers to the uptake in the mobile TV service . Sports content and the World Cup in particular have traditionally been important engines of mobile TV adoption in Portugal.

At the technological heart of the Vodafone service was the mVOG (mobile Video Optimisation Gateway) from Ortiva Wireless. The solution saw use in handling the surge in users, conserved precious bandwidth, and optimised users' video experience by dynamically adapting content real-time to adjust for continuously changing network conditions.

Commented Pedro Azevedo Duarte, Vodafone Portugal's Network Services Development Manager, "We are very happy with Ortiva Wireless. The scalability and performance of the mVOG platform coupled with Ortiva's unparalleled customer support enabled Vodafone Portugal to accommodate rapid user growth during the World Cup while providing excellent quality of service to our subscribers."

Marc Zionts, CEO of Ortiva Wireless, added, "We're delighted that Vodafone Portugal's confidence in our video optimization technology and Ortiva's ability to provide the responsiveness and customer support expected by a world-class service provider. We look forward to supporting Vodafone Portugal as it expands its leadership position in mobile video."