My sole reason for posting the example was to show how a small number of individual antennas could produce focusing lobes within a 2D space. Phased array radars

My sole reason for posting the example was to show how a small number of individual antennas could produce focusing lobes within a 2D space. Phased array radars use many more elements, much higher control over the wavefront, and for a different purpose. In a cellular antenna scenario, unlike phased array radar, you cannot avoid multiple lobes, but the advantage of phasing is still present. Adding antennas to the system (beyond three or four) becomes a case of diminishing returns. > More antennas can enable you to narrow lobes more - you may have not been phasing them properly to get that effect. There are paradoxical effects with more than a few antennas -- apart from the complexity issue. In some cases you will see lobes with strange shapes in locations having no benefit. With a circular array of antennas, you sometimes get concentric circles of high signal strength, not what you're after in the described system. Example: http://i.imgur.com/hK9BZnF.png http://i.imgur.com/hK9BZnF.png