A Radio Resource Management (RRM) module is provided to capture network topology information associated with a wireless communication network. This information is transmitted to a Smart Antenna (SA) module collocated within a network node. The SA module determines the appropriate direction, width and power of beams transmitted in the network. The SA module adjusts the direction, width, and/or power of the beams accordingly. A multi-purpose network node for communicating in a wireless communication network operates in a base station mode. If the node detects a change in the network, it determines whether the change should trigger a change in operating modes. If such a change is desired, the node switches between base station and wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU) modes. The node continues to operate in a WTRU mode until another mode triggering event occurs. In an alternate embodiment, the multi-purpose node operates in base station and WTRU modes simultaneously.