  Large antenna arrays and millimeter-wave (mmWave) frequencies have been
attracting growing attention as possible candidates to meet the high
requirements of future 5G mobile networks. In view of the large path loss
attenuation in these bands, beamforming techniques that create a beam in the
direction of the user equipment are essential to perform the transmission. For
this purpose, in this paper, we aim at characterizing realistic antenna
radiation patterns, motivated by the need to properly capture mmWave
propagation behaviors and understand the achievable performance in 5G cellular
scenarios. In particular, we highlight how the performance changes with the
radiation pattern used. Consequently, we conclude that it is crucial to use an
accurate and realistic radiation model for proper performance assessment and
system dimensioning.
