We've been excited by the utter popularity of the Webcam in the last three summers. Hundreds of parents have jumped online during meals and chapel times to see how their campers are doing at Summer Camp. Guest groups have checked out their main meeting facility to see if its right for them, and wives have checked in on husbands at the many Men's Retreats we host here throughout the year.

The downside for the webcam has been its bandwidth. Just in case you don't know the term, bandwidth refers to the amount of information that can flow through an internet connection. Those with 56K dialup internet have a very, VERY narrow bandwidth, while those with cable internet have a much wider bandwidth, and can typically view videos, download pictures and watch television online.

The bandwidth at Skyview was never meant for the demands of a popular webcam, leading to poor internet connections at Skyview and skippy, delayed images for viewers at home.

This week that problem is finally coming to an end. Skyview is nearly tripling its overall bandwidth, which means parents will be able to get a higher quality video stream from the Webcam, and visitors at the Ranch will have a much faster, more consistent wireless internet signal to get work done and check up on Facebook.

Keep checking in this week and next week as we finish up work here installing new cable lines and upgrading our in house systems. We love growth here at the Ranch!