@hansw distance is part of it. But not really due to the frequency. For one the antenna is in a fixed orientation so it isnt possible to point it at your intended destination. For another the power output would be <1W (in order to be legal) which wont get very far regardless.

The other feature, that it can be used for BOINC.. well its just a raspberry pi. Without a GPU to contribute and being a lower powered CPU it will contribute very little to BOINC as well.