The range for 802.11 is in the ballpark of 100 to 300 feet, depending on what's in the line of sight. People report having used Primestar dishes to get ranges of up to 10 miles.
WifiNets and WifiBoxes are designed to make it easy to be NearBy.
* You can extend the range of an existing WifiNet just by putting a WifiBox the periphery of an existing WifiBox (see ChallengeS) ** You may not even need to provide a connection to the internet!
-- JonSchull