Consumer analytics startup ClickFox released a report that suggests that, at least in terms of how much it will cost a company to solve user issues, the iPhone has the lead over Android and BlackBerry.   ClickFox analyzed support calls received by North American carriers, and found that it costs carriers about $46 million more  a year to handle BlackBerry issues than iPhone problems. Android is the costliest platform of them all, costing carries $97 million more in support costs than the iPhone.

“The reason: It more often takes multiple agents to solve a BlackBerry or Android user’s problem, which means calls must be transferred, or the issue ends up taking multiple discussions to resolve. By contrast, iPhone users’ problems are typically handled in just one session.”

The study indicates that about 11 million of the calls by BlackBerry users require more time dedicated by support agents, compared to 77 percent of Android-related calls or 24 million incidents. The BlackBerry, however, is the one with the highest redirect rate, standing at 37 percent.

Support call-ins tend to cost telcos, and other companies for that matter, a lot. Part of the reason was laid out in an earlier report by ClickFox. The firm said suggested that failed authentication is to blame – at $5 per call, the 10 percent of all calls that are redirected due to this reason can add up to $13 million a year. Similarly, failing to address customer issues via social media channels can also turn out to be pricey: phone calls, live online support, complaint emails and even website hits can all cost companies in the long run.

ClickFox is investing in research, as well in expanding structurally. It formed an advisory board just a couple months ago to build out its executive support as well.  The matter of business intelligence is becoming standard operating procedure for many companies, and  ClickFox offers some interesting insight to service operations and costs when it comes to the mobile industry.