Selective data compression

A method and apparatus are described for determining whether to convey a communication signal in a compressed form along a communication path. The method comprises the steps of: (i) providing the communication signal that should be conveyed along said communication path; (ii) determining whether at least part of the communication signal comprises data having a non-random distribution; (iii) if the at least part of the communication signal is determined to comprise data having at least partially a non-random distribution, applying a compression algorithm onto that at least part of the communication signal to form a compressed form of the communication signal provided; and (iv) conveying the communication signal in its compressed form along the communication path.