We study the problem of broadcasting in a system where n nodes are placed on a line of length L, independently uniformly distributed. We assume that every node is equipped with a transmitter whose radius of transmission is 1. We further assume that simultaneous broadcasts by neighbouring nodes results in garbled messages. The system is synchronous and time is slotted with nodes transmitting only during a slot.

We present an algorithm for broadcasting and compute the expected number of time steps required for it to complete. The algorithm is shown to be optimal. We also present and analyze an algorithm, to be executed by every node, that identifies the subset of nodes to serve as transmitters for a broadcast originating at the origin. We assume that the nodes are initially unaware of the topology of the system.