Token ring operation by each station. All stations compete for a transmission channel in a random way. When a station has data to send, it listens to the channel to see if anyone else is transmitting. If the channel is busy, the station waits until the channel becomes idle and then transmits. If the channel is idle, the station transmits its frame immediately.
Propagation delay has a very important role to play.
If there are two stations that wish to transmit, and the first station's signal has not yet propagated to the second station, there will be a collision. The station having a frame to transmit, transmits with probability 1 whenever it finds the channel idle. If a collision occurs, then the station waits a random amount of time. If the channel is idle, the packet is transmitted. If the channel is busy, the station waits a random amount of time before sensing the channel again.