quick question

As this is RF 101, let's stay at sea level and "average" conditions. There are transmission vs. frequency charts to show the signal loss and therefore how the RF frequency affects range.

http://www.softwright.com/tap5.html gives you insight that such is still not an exact science in the real world.

Bob

But, of course, the designer can compensate for negative effects of the frequency by putting more power in the transmitter or using a more sensitive receiver. So read the specs of what you want to buy, if distance is critical, and arrange the right to return the router if it doesn't work for the distance you need.

Other aspects that might be relevant for your choice: speed (in Mbps), security (encryption protocols used), price, warranty, interoperability with existing equipment, number of ports, connections with WAN and computer (NIC or USB), reviews (reviewing for example the user interface and the flexibility of the setup).

Kees

I'm going to disagree with Bob a bit. Frequency plays an important part, but the amount of power behind the signal is more important.

Radio stations operate at pretty low frequencies, but because they have gigawatts of power backing them, they can span for many miles. Compare that to the less than a megawatt behind your typical home wifi device, and things should be clear.

Theoretically, if you were to significantly boost the amount of power going to a wifi device's antenna, you could get a pretty significant range increase, but you'd probably run afowl of some FCC regulations at the same time.