In a carrier-sense multiple access (CSMA) media-access control protocol, a
collision occurs when two stations attempt to transmit at the
same time. Since the messages interfere with each other, the
collision must be avoided or detected. In CA,
each station listens to ensure that the shared channel is
free. If so, a station that desires to transmit waits
a fixed time plus a random time before transmitting.
Other topics in our resources on Communications Systems related to CA include: