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In multihop ad hoc networks over 802.11, the real bandwidth-delay product (BDP) cannot reach a value as large as in wired networks due to contention through wireless shared channels. As a result, conventional congestion-control algorithms cause an overshooting window problem and result in poor throughput in ad hoc networks. In this paper, we split the real round-trip time (RTT) into two parts: 1) congestion RTT and 2) contention RTT. We reveal that the contention RTT has nothing to do with the BDP and that the BDP is determined by only the congestion RTT if a link with the worst contention status does not lead to link breakage. An inadequate use of contention RTT causes a Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) congestion window overshooting problem. We propose a novel mechanism called congestion window adaptation through contention detection, which provides a more accurate method of estimating the contention status. Based on this mechanism, we present a congestion window adaptation method to limit the window size from overshooting. Simulation results show that our proposed mechanism outperforms the conventional TCP and the enhanced mechanisms called TCP with contention control and TCP with a maximum window. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]