Juniper Research has published a new report that forecasts rapid adoption of Near Field Communication services over the next three years.

It expects there to be almost 300 million NFC-capable smartphones by 2014; the equivalent of at least 1 in 5 worldwide. Half all those NFC smartphones are expected to be in North America, followed by Western Europe.

In this week's edition of The Fonecast we’re paying another visit to GSMA Mobile World Congress. There's an interview with Mary Carol Harris, vice president for mobile development at Visa Europe, and a wide-ranging discussion about mobile payment technologies.

Plus, as usual, the team takes its regular look at all the week’s mobile industry headlines - from Vodafone's network problems to the 4G renaming of Snoop Dogg (or 'Dogggg', as he now prefers).

Ofcom has issued a consultation about a number of changes it needs to make by 25th May 2011, which is a deadline set by the EU for new telecoms laws to be in place.

These include mobile number portability, SMS access to emergency services and contract terms.

Neelie Kroes, European Commission Vice-President for the Digital Agenda, has asked twenty one EU countries to urgently introduce all the necessary legal measures to allow the pan-EU deployment of mobile satellite services. Potential uses for these services include high-speed internet, mobile television and emergency communications.

The European Parliament and the EU's Council of Ministers agreed around three years ago that Mobile Satellite Services should be deployed in all EU Member States by May 2011.

UK customers can now buy an international data roaming tariff that offers a single rate in more than 50 countries worldwide. The deal, called abroadband, has been set up by the Telekom Austria Group but can be purchased in 27 countries and used in 53 countries.

Data is charged at 59 Euro cents per MB (about 50p/MB), with connection options including a conventional SIM, micro SIM or USB dongle.