Main Page | See live article | Alphabetical index In telecommunication, the term contention has the following meanings: 1. A condition that arises when two or more data stations attempt to transmit at the same time over a shared channel, or when two data stations attempt to transmit at the same time in two-way alternate communication. Note: A contention can occur in data communications when no station is designated a master station. In contention, each station must monitor the signals and wait for a quiescent condition before initiating a bid for master status. 2. Competition by users of a system for use of the same facility at the same time. Source: from Federal Standard 1037C and from MIL-STD-188 This article is from Wikipedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.