The MRU major obstacles were the geographic terrain and the demographics of the country. In many parts of the Sultanate, there are pockets of residence spread over a vast areas. Some of these areas are remote and difficult to reach via land or urban transportation. One example is the Musandam peninsula, it is an exclave of Oman, separated from the rest of the country by the United Arab Emirates. The Musandam Peninsula has an area of 1,800 square kilometers (695 sq mi) and a population of 28,727 people. It is located 500 kilometers from Muscat and consists of mountains and coastline. Madha is located halfway between the Musandam Peninsula and the main body of Oman. It is part of the Musandam governorate, covering approximately 75 km2 (29 sq mi). Access to Musandam by land is possible through coast road from the United Arab Emirates, by using passenger ferry or by air.
Another example is Masirah, an island off the East coast of Oman, 95 km long north-south, between 12 and 14 km wide, with an area of about 649 km², and a population estimated at 12,000 in 12 villages mainly in the north of the island (9,292 as of the census of 2003, of which were 2,311 foreigners). The only way to access the area is using passenger ferry or by air. The next example is Wahiba Sands, or Ramlat al-Wahiba (also called Sharqiya Sands), are a region of desert in Oman. The area is defined by a boundary of 180 kilometers (112 mi) north to south and 80 kilometers (50 mi) east to west, with an area of 12,500 square kilometers (4,800 sq mi). Within all the examples above, the residence over there are spread into smaller communities, some are less than 20 in a village.
Some of these varied geographic obstacles were overcome by using 4 wheel drive vehicles for easy movement through the mountains and deserts. However, when it comes to cross border situation, arrangement with the UAE official government were negotiated to allow the smooth access of the Mobile unit to Musandam by land. For places that need to be access via air travel, like Musandam and Masirah Island, the equipments are refined to be more compact and portable by hand.
Other obstacles were logistics and manpower issues. Initial teething problems were encountered for example the technical and breakdown of the equipment due to the breaking in phase. This was resolved through better planning and scheduling of the personnel and equipment maintenance. A proper communication protocol was also established between the users and the technical support personnel in the Head Office to ensure that help is readily available.
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