Three of Canada's smaller mobile phone companies are withdrawing from the industry association, because of what they consider "consistent bias" in favour of their competitors — the big three carriers.

Wind Mobile, Mobilicity and Public Mobile announced the move in a joint statement Wednesday, after what they called mounting frustration with the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA).

"We were promised clear and fair representation on issues of true industry alignment," Simon Lockie of Wind Mobile said in the statement. "But despite making our objections and concerns abundantly clear on numerous occasions, the CWTA has repeatedly failed to honour this promise, leaving us no alternative but to withdraw."

Rather than being a "true industry association," representing all members, "the CWTA has instead largely been an advocate for Rogers, Telus and Bell, and often directly contrary to the interests of new entrant wireless carriers," Public Mobile's Bob Boron said.

The three have been at odds with the lobby group for some time, expressing their dissent publicly on at least one other occasion, in January 2011.