In the past, we used to compress files in order to save disk space. Today, disk space is cheap - but bandwidth is limited. By compressing data streams, you achieve two goals:
1) You save bandwidth/transfered volume (that is important if you have to pay for traffic or if your network is loaded.).
2) Speeding up low-bandwidth connections (Modem, GSM, ISDN).
This HowTo explains how to save both bandwith and connection time by using tools like SSH1, SSH2, OpenSSH or LSH.