WiMAX company Alvarion on Monday said it will market a pre-packaged “kit” that allows African carriers or non-governmental organizations to quickly and inexpensively set up small high-speed networks.

The kit--which includes equipment, support, and training for carriers and others to construct networks of 1 to 5 wireless broadband cells--will be marketed along with Intel’s World Ahead Program.

The WiMAX kits will  be unveiled at AfricaCom 2008, the continent’s largest communications trade show, which opens on Tuesday in Cape Town, the Republic of South Africa.

“This is targeted at underserved areas in both developing and developed countries where a community group can take this kit and provide wireless broadband to communities or to whole countries,” said Ashish Sharma, vice president of corporate market development for Alvarion.

Carriers or nongovernmental organizations can use the “technology-in-a-box” to build wireless broadband networks that cover ten to twenty square kilometers in rural areas or ten square kilometers in urban areas.

The instructions are simple enough, Mr. Sharma said, that the installations can be successful without any input from trained WiMAX engineers.

Israel-based Alvarion is easily the largest WiMAX equipment company  in Africa, according to researcher TeleGeography.

The company was involved in 13 of 38 WiMAX deals on the continent of Africa in the third quarter of 2008. Its closest rival was involved in eight deals.

Intel, which is a major backer of WiMAX, will market the Alvarion do-it-yourself kit in conjunction with its other initiatives.

Intel’s effort is part of one at the company’s ongoing intiative to help bridge the digital divide. In that, non-governmental organizations such as health care and educational volunteer groups are needed.

“We found a match with Intel because in a lot of developing countries the household PC penetration is so low that we are going to institutions such as schools and libraries where people go in groups to get access to broadband,” Mr. Sharma said.

The goal is to eventually take advantage of Intel’s effort to bring inexpensive PCs to households to benefit the residents of underserved markets and ultimately grow the market for high tech goods and services.