= Solution
Use the standard infinite-population <slotted ALOHA> model with independent fresh arrivals with <Poisson distribution> $Y_t\sim\operatorname{Poisson}(\lambda)$, $\lambda>0$. Newly arrived packets attempt in the next slot. Given $N_t=n$ old backlogged packets, each independently attempts with fixed probability $f$, so the retransmission count has <binomial distribution> $R_t\sim\operatorname{Binomial}(n,f)$, independent of $Y_t$ and earlier random choices. Let $Z_t$ record whether $R_t+Y_t$ is zero, one, or at least two. A single transmission succeeds and departs; a collision makes every transmitted packet remain. Therefore
$$
N_{t+1}=N_t+Y_t-S_t,\qquad S_t=\mathbf1\{R_t+Y_t=1\}.
$$
Only the present backlog determines the law of the next independent choices, so $N_t$ is a time-homogeneous <Markov chain>.
For $0<f<1$, put $q=1-f$ and $b_n=n f q^{n-1}$, with $b_0=0$. Its nonzero <transition probabilities> are
$$
\begin{aligned}
p_{n,n-1}&=e^{-\lambda}b_n\quad(n\geq1),\\
p_{n,n}&=e^{-\lambda}(1-b_n+\lambda q^n),\\
p_{n,n+1}&=e^{-\lambda}\lambda(1-q^n),\\
p_{n,n+k}&=e^{-\lambda}\frac{\lambda^k}{k!}\quad(k\geq2).
\end{aligned}
$$
For example, a single fresh arrival leaves the backlog unchanged only if no old packet transmits; if an old packet also transmits, that fresh arrival becomes a new backlogged packet. These cases explain the extra diagonal term and the suppressed one-step increase at $n=0$. At $f=1$ the same formulas hold with $q^0=1$, $b_1=1$ and $b_n=0$ for $n\ne1$.
Here is an almost-sure proof of <permanent collisions in constant-probability slotted ALOHA> for $0<f<1$, rather than just a positive-drift heuristic. For $\theta>0$, the conditional exponential increment is
$$
\mathbb E[e^{-\theta(N_{t+1}-N_t)}\mid N_t=n]=e^{\lambda(e^{-\theta}-1)}+(e^{\theta}-1)e^{-\lambda}[b_n+\lambda e^{-\theta}q^n].
$$
As $n\to\infty$ this tends to a number strictly below one. Choose $M\geq1$ so the expression is at most one for $n\geq M$. Stopping $e^{-\theta N_t}$ when the chain first enters $\{0,\ldots,M-1\}$ gives a nonnegative <supermartingale>. Downward jumps have size at most one, so it hits at $M-1$. <Optional sampling theorem for a supermartingale>, first at bounded times and then by a limit, yields the <exponential-supermartingale escape bound>
$$
\mathbb P_n\{\text{ever enter }\{0,\ldots,M-1\}\}\leq e^{-\theta(n-M+1)}<1\quad(n\geq M).
$$
This is an <irreducible Markov chain>: every positive state can successively decrease to zero, and from zero Poisson batches reach every state at least two, with state one then reached from two. An irreducible <recurrent Markov chain> would hit that finite set with probability one from every state, contradicting the bound. Hence every state is a <transient state>, every finite set is visited only finitely often, and $N_t\to\infty$ almost surely.
The conditional success probability is $p(N_t)=e^{-\lambda}(b_{N_t}+\lambda q^{N_t})\to0$. The centered success indicators form a <martingale difference sequence> with bounded increments. The <strong law for martingales with bounded increments> gives
$$
\frac1t\sum_{u<t}[S_u-p(N_u)]\longrightarrow0.
$$
The conditional means have Cesàro average zero, while the <strong law of large numbers> gives $t^{-1}\sum_{u<t}Y_u\to\lambda$. Therefore $N_t/t\to\lambda$ almost surely. Finally
$$
\mathbb P(Z_t\ne *\mid N_t)=e^{-\lambda}[(1+\lambda)q^{N_t}+b_{N_t}]
$$
decays exponentially along this linear backlog growth. Its sum over $t$ is almost surely finite. The <Conditional Borel-Cantelli lemma> then implies that only finitely many slots have zero or one transmission. \b[Thus $\boxed{\mathbb P(\exists J:\ Z_t=*\text{ for every }t\geq J)=1}$.] At $f=1$, a fresh batch of size at least two eventually occurs, after which at least two old packets retransmit in every slot, giving the same conclusion directly.
The qualification $f>0$ is essential: if $f=0$, then $Z_t$ depends only on the independent Poisson arrivals, and zero- or one-arrival slots occur infinitely often. Positive mean arrival rate alone, without the Poisson model or another assumption allowing collisions to develop, would also be insufficient: Bernoulli fresh arrivals and initial backlog zero never collide.
One alternative is <binary exponential backoff>: after $k$ collisions a packet selects a waiting time uniformly from $\{0,\ldots,2^k-1\}$ and tries when its counter expires. Its attempt behavior depends on its collision history, rather than a common constant $f$. Another possibility, if a backlog estimate $\widehat N_t$ is available, is to set the attempt probability near $1/\widehat N_t$, keeping the offered retransmission count near one. These descriptions illustrate adaptive access rules; they do not assert that every backoff variant is stable at arbitrary load.
Back to article page