CDMA penetration reached more than 420 million subscribers worldwide in the third quarter of 2007, representing a growth of 20 million net subscribers in the quarter, the CDMA Development Group (CDG) said today. Out of the 421.4 million total customers, the CDMA 1x subscriber base makes up 400.4 million. On a global basis, Asia Pacific, North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa account for the most growth in worldwide CDMA.

APAC and North America continue to account for the majority of CDMA subscribers, claiming 49% and 32% of the worldwide total, respectively. The Asia and EMEA regions saw the greatest percentage of year-over-year growth, with the CDMA footprint increasing by 32% in APAC and 44% in EMEA.

Perry LaForge, executive director of the CDG, said that CDMA has become the technology of choice in both emerging and developing markets due largely to its high-speed broadband connectivity, low-cost device availability and lower cost of network ownership. Traditionally CDMA has been at a disadvantage to GSM because of the higher cost of devices, but as CDMA has gained global traction, equipment costs have fallen, positioning it as a low-cost technology for emerging markets. That success in countries like India has helped counteract the lost momentum in some of CDMA’s original markets, such as South Korea and Brazil, as they shift to GSM and UMTS.

CDMA 1x now comprises approximately 95% of all CDMA subscribers, up from 93% last quarter, according to the CDG. Its 3G counterpart, 1xEV-DO, garnered 83 million subscribers, an increase of 8 million since last quarter and 38 million since the third quarter of last year.