Idea Cellular scraps $493 million Videocon airwaves deal

MUMBAI (Reuters) - India's third-biggest mobile phone operator, Idea Cellular Ltd , said it has called off its plan to buy telecom spectrum worth 33.10 billion rupees ($493 million) from smaller rival Videocon Telecommunications.

Idea, a unit of the Aditya Birla conglomerate, and nearly a fifth-owned by Malaysia's Axiata , had signed the deal last November to buy the radio airwaves in two service areas in the states of Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh for launching 4G services.

The company did not cite a reason for terminating the deal.

($1 = 67.1627 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Himank Sharma; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)