lump,
If you have a phone, you have to have a long distance carrier- at least ATT requires it here. However, we don't make any long distance calls on the home phone since the cell long distance is free. My long distance plan costs $1.00 per month. I would get rid of the home phone completely except for 2 reasons:
1. I have 2 teenage daughters and choose not to pay for their 10,000,000 minutes per month.
2. I have DSL which requires a home phone. Even with that it's still cheaper than cable internet here.