The present invention provides a base station architecture that is modular in configuration, lowering the initial cost of implementing a new CDMA telecommunication system for a defined geographical region while allowing for future capacity. The scalable architecture is assembled from a digital base station unit that is configured to support a plurality of simultaneous wireless calls connecting to a conventional public switched telephone network. For initial startup, two base station units are deployed for redundancy in case of a single failure. Additional base station units may be added when the need arises for extra traffic capacity. If sectorization is required, the base station units may be directionally oriented. Coupled to and remote from each base station unit are two amplified antenna modules that contain an omni-directional or an external directional antenna, a high power RF amplifier for transmitted frequencies and a low noise amplifier for received frequencies. A separate power supply module capable of supporting two base station units provides continued service in the event of a mains power outage.