A modular base station enhancing system (Fig. 1) includes multiple bi−directional amplifiers (118) that are remotely controlled. Duplexers, corresponding to the bi−directional amplifiers, interface the bi−directional amplifiers with base station antenna elements, enabling simultaneous transmission and reception through the antenna elements. A control circuit (105), located remotely from the base state and the bi−directional amplifiers, enables control of at least one parameter in each of the bi−directional amplifiers to control transmission and reception characteristics of the antennas elements. The controllable bi−directional amplifiers may include a linear power amplifier to amplify transmitted signals and a low−noise amplifier to amplify received signals. The base station enhancing system is interoperable with different types of antenna elements, and may be implemented as a radio frequency (RF) front−end of the base station or as an RF repeater.
