OSS + ELC EU 2026

Zephyr has mature driver APIs for IEEE 802.15.4, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and LoRa but none for radios running proprietary or custom link-layer protocols. The gap is most acute in Sub-1GHz but applies equally to proprietary 2.4GHz radios used in audio, gaming peripherals, and industrial control.
Current workarounds include using a protocol-specific API like ieee802154_radio_api or shipping standalone drivers and importing MAC assumptions that don't belong at the PHY. The result is duplicate code across out-of-tree drivers that lock applications to a single chip and block upstream contribution. The problem spans standalone transceivers and integrated SoCs across TI, Silicon Labs, Microchip, and ST.
This talk revives Zephyr RFC #43201 (closed 2022) with a focused proposal: a new prop_rf driver API covering only physical-layer operations, leaving link-layer concerns to the application or protocol implementer. Three principles drive the design: applications port across vendors without API lock-in; vendor HALs remain free to expose custom features via device-specific extensions; and the API works for both external transceivers and integrated SoCs.