diff --git a/examples/complete-network-example.cc b/examples/complete-network-example.cc
index b5425e13fa..ff6487809d 100644
--- a/examples/complete-network-example.cc
+++ b/examples/complete-network-example.cc
@@ -64,6 +64,9 @@ main(int argc, char* argv[])
     CommandLine cmd(__FILE__);
     cmd.AddValue("nDevices", "Number of end devices to include in the simulation", nDevices);
     cmd.AddValue("radius", "The radius (m) of the area to simulate", radiusMeters);
+    cmd.AddValue("realisticChannel",
+                 "Whether to use a more realistic channel model",
+                 realisticChannelModel);
     cmd.AddValue("simulationTime", "The time (s) for which to simulate", simulationTimeSeconds);
     cmd.AddValue("appPeriod",
                  "The period in seconds to be used by periodically transmitting applications",
diff --git a/test/examples-to-run.py b/test/examples-to-run.py
index afdbf2b366..ce8b065c07 100644
--- a/test/examples-to-run.py
+++ b/test/examples-to-run.py
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@
 cpp_examples = [
     ("simple-network-example", "True", "True"),
     ("network-server-example", "True", "True"),
-    ("complete-network-example", "True", "True"),
+    ("complete-network-example --realisticChannel", "True", "True"),
     ("adr-example", "True", "True"),
     ("lorawan-energy-model-example", "True", "True"),
     ("aloha-throughput", "True", "True"),