Due to bandwidth constraints on the wireless link in an IP network, it is
useful to compress the headers so as to maximize the utilization of the
link. There exists Header Compression algorithms that make use of the
similarity in consecutive headers in a packet flow to compress these
headers. In this document, a novel header compression scheme was
introduced that makes use of the similarity in consecutive flows from or
to a given mobile terminal to compress these headers. Using information
theory, the optimal gain to be expected from the use of such a scheme was
analyzed. A model was defined for the distribution of the connections of
a single user over the address space. The compression scheme was
evaluated with respect to this model and to actual internet data traces.
The scheme is complementary and the benefits are additional to the
traditional approach to header compression. However, the scheme
outperforms current schemes with respect to actual internet traces.