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Paul Giobbi is the first to admit he’s swimming against the tide. Though Wi-Fi is all the rage, thanks to aggressive promotion from the likes of Intel and Starbucks, Giobbi is steering his customers in a different direction when it comes to mobile computing.

His focus—a crusade, really—is third-generation (3G) wireless WAN services from carriers such as Verizon Wireless, Sprint PCS and Cingular/AT&T Wireless. After all, how many public Wi-Fi hot spots extend out to the seashore near Giobbi’s Lake Forrest offices in Southern California? Wireless WAN network access, Giobbi points out, is available in virtually all major cities and many outlying areas. Mobile workers can tap into e-mail and other corporate data at client sites, hotels, on the road and at some areas, like the beach, where most traditional Wi-Fi networks don’t reach.

“We are talking about access virtually anywhere, not just at Starbucks and the airport,” Giobbi said.

Giobbi is so bullish on 3G technology, in fact, that he effectively has become one of its biggest evangelists. He has undertaken what some might consider extraordinary lengths to champion wireless WAN data services, an opportunity that is still soft by many accounts.

In addition to providing seminars to potential customers that highlight the benefits of 3G wireless services and the applications and devices that can take advantage of them, Giobbi is talking to other integrators and in some cases giving up service contracts to a carrier’s direct-sales force—all to get the message out. “We need Intel-level visibility around where third-generation wireless is,” he said.

Giobbi has secured $60,000 from four of his mobile vendors to take his 3G message on the road this year and already has reached hundreds of potential customers in venues such as Houston, New York, Chicago and Irvine, Calif. Moving forward, he’s working with Citrix Systems to provide a wireless information session for integrators. And, he lets Verizon Wireless direct-sales reps work his seminars outside of California. Verizon doesn’t have an established wireless channel program but offers what Giobbi believes is the best 3G coverage available in the United States. (He’s actively lobbying Verizon for a formal channel initiative.)

But for some integrators, 3G is a hard sell. Among other things, they cite as hindrances spotty coverage of 3G services, and lack of support and recurring commissions from the wireless carriers.

Hugo Perez, managing partner of Data Corp., a Miami-based solution provider, has other concerns. Wireless dial-up speeds prevalent in his south Florida location won’t suit most traveling professionals now used to broadband connectivity, he said. Moreover, signal strength in his area is not suitable for data communications. Perez, who has used a wireless WAN card himself, said he frequently lost access to the network. “I spent more time redialing than actually being online,” he said.

So, Data Corp. is focusing its efforts in the mobile arena on setting up campuswide WLANs and is offering a portable broadband VoIP kit for corporate customers, said Perez. Still, Zumasys is starting to see some momentum from 3G. With the $60,000 funding, it plans to visit six cities this year. Giobbi said a recent Houston seminar netted 12 meetings with customers, and a New York one was equally successful.

The Zumasys seminars focus on two aspects of wireless WAN technology. Vendors such as Sierra Wireless and Good Technology show off wireless e-mail on smartphones. Panasonic and Citrix, meanwhile, showcase ways to access corporate applications on a laptop securely from a remote location. Citrix also demonstrates a new application that easily ports a portion of larger application screens into HTML for easy viewing on portables.

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