One of the major problems in multihop ad hoc ATM networks is the establishment and maintenance of virtual connections. Therefore, PNNI, IP and ZRP have been investigated as possible routing protocol candidates. All three have been modelled and analysed in terms of signalling overhead. The analytical model showed that ZRP is the most promising candidate as it is able to be adapted to any kind of network topology. As ZRP has been developed for IP it has been changed for ATM routing. Computer simulations show that the analytical model is accurate and the delays due to topology changes are very limited.