A peripheral antenna system, comprising: a circuit board; communication circuitry located in an interior area of the circuit board, the communication circuitry configured to generate an RF signal into a feed line distribution point of the circuit board; a first antenna element located near a first periphery of the circuit board, the first antenna element configured to produce a first radiation pattern when coupled to the feed line distribution point; a second antenna element located near a second periphery of the circuit board, the second antenna element configured to produce a second radiation pattern offset from the first directional radiation pattern when coupled to the feed line distribution point; and a switching network configured to selectively couple the feed line distribution point to the first antenna element and the second antenna element; characterized in that the radiation patterns of the first and second antenna element (240A, 240B) are directional; that the first antenna element and the second antenna element are adapted to collectively produce omnidirectional and horizontally polarized radiation coverage that is in the plane of the circuit board when the first antenna element and the second antenna element are coupled to the feed line distribution point and that the switching network comprises a first RF switch and a second RF switch located at a multiple of one-half wavelength from the feed line distribution point, the first RF switch configured to selectively couple the feed line distribution point to the first antenna element and the second RF switch configured to selectively couple the feed line distribution point to the second antenna element. a circuit board; communication circuitry located in an interior area of the circuit board, the communication circuitry configured to generate an RF signal into a feed line distribution point of the circuit board; a first antenna element located near a first periphery of the circuit board, the first antenna element configured to produce a first radiation pattern when coupled to the feed line distribution point; a second antenna element located near a second periphery of the circuit board, the second antenna element configured to produce a second radiation pattern offset from the first directional radiation pattern when coupled to the feed line distribution point; and a switching network configured to selectively couple the feed line distribution point to the first antenna element and the second antenna element; characterized in that the radiation patterns of the first and second antenna element (240A, 240B) are directional; that the first antenna element and the second antenna element are adapted to collectively produce omnidirectional and horizontally polarized radiation coverage that is in the plane of the circuit board when the first antenna element and the second antenna element are coupled to the feed line distribution point and that the switching network comprises a first RF switch and a second RF switch located at a multiple of one-half wavelength from the feed line distribution point, the first RF switch configured to selectively couple the feed line distribution point to the first antenna element and the second RF switch configured to selectively couple the feed line distribution point to the second antenna element.