An optical device may include a communication interface and processing logic configured to receive a broadcast contention-based allocation from an optical line terminal (OLT), wherein the contention-based allocation is associated with activation of the optical device in an optical network. The processing logic may also be configured to transmit a message in response to the contention-based allocation, wherein the message includes information identifying the optical device and receive, from the OLT, an assignment message or a feedback message in response to the transmitted message. The processing logic may be further configured to execute a retransmission procedure based on the assignment or feedback message indicating that a collision occurred.