TI OMAP3 SSI cellular modem interconnect controller
A controller for the Synchronous Serial Interface (SSI), a legacy variant of the High-Speed Synchronous Serial Interface (HSI) bus that TI built into OMAP3 application processors so the main CPU could talk to an attached cellular modem. It saw real-world use in late-2000s and early-2010s smartphones such as the Nokia N900 and other OMAP3-based handsets.
recommendation
Worth keeping but documenting its niche: the code is still receiving upstream fixes and API updates through 2024-2025, no replacement exists since this is SoC-specific glue for a legacy modem link, and TI still lists some OMAP3 parts (e.g. OMAP3503) as active and orderable in 2025. Mainstream handset deployment effectively ended around 2012, so the user base today is small embedded and hobbyist systems rather than mass-market phones.
repository signals
sources
- git.kernel.org
Path is still seeing upstream maintenance in recent kernels, with fixes and API updates through 2024-2025 rather than abandonment or removal prep.
- cateee.net
CONFIG_OMAP_SSI is the OMAP SSI hardware driver; LKDDb ties it to ti,omap3-ssi / omap_ssi and shows it still present in current kernel series.
- ti.com
At least some OMAP3 family silicon was still sold new in 2025; TI lists OMAP3503 as ACTIVE and orderable.
- en.wikipedia.org
OMAP3 was a mainstream handset-era family long ago; by the 2010s it had shifted from broad mobile deployment to legacy/catalog and niche embedded use.
codex reasoning notes (technical)
Local inspection via exec_command showed this directory contains the OMAP SSI controller driver, and Kconfig labels SSI as a legacy HSI variant used between an application engine and cellular modem. Local git log via exec_command showed substantive fixes/API updates from 2022-07-04 through 2025-07-04 and no clear removal/deprecation series, so removal is not indicated. The git.kernel.org log URL is canonical recall, included to anchor that maintenance surface. LKDDb URL was obtained by web search and confirms the driver maps to OMAP3 SSI hardware and is still in current kernels. TI product URL was obtained by web search and shows some OMAP3 parts remain ACTIVE/orderable in 2025, so hardware_still_sold_new_in_2025 stays true. Wikipedia URL was obtained by web search and is used only for the broad market-history inference that widespread deployment likely ended around 2012, leaving low present-day deployments. No natural replacement driver exists; this is a SoC-specific controller for a legacy modem interconnect, so the practical recommendation is keep-annotate rather than deprecate/remove.