A system for reducing the bandwidth required to wirelessly transmit a packet via a wireless network is provided. In an embodiment, the system includes a transmitting node configured to generate a packet to be transmitted via the wireless network, to select a suppression rule from a table of suppression rules based on the type of the packet to be transmitted, to apply the suppression rule to the packet to generate a suppressed packet, wherein the transmitter node applies the suppression rule by suppressing at least a portion of the header of the packet and by adding a descriptor associated with the header suppression rule to the packet, and to transmit the suppressed packet via the wireless network. The system also includes a receiving node configured to receive the suppressed packet from the transmitting node via the wireless network, to select an expansion rule from a table of expansion rules based on the descriptor included with the suppressed packet, and to apply an expansion rule to the packet to generate an expanded packet.