I mostly tend to play single, career-driven types of sims, so family-type play and its issues are not the norm for me. So in situations like mine, the phone calls tend to be impractical time-wasting distractions. If I had to pick just one, I really just want the phone to leave me the heck alone so I can play. I do so much better when I can just focus on whatever I'm trying to do.
If I were to be playing a family, however, and most especially a legacy type of thing, it would be something I could see being important. So I understand that as well, and I think that those types of players need to have it there for their type of play.
What I really think the issue is here is the lack of options. No matter what kind of game we are playing, we want a given feature to fit into that - but reasonably, of course. So that is what I hope the gurus will take away from this - features need to have a reasonable impact upon gameplay, and be adjustable to the different types of scenarios that players commonly apply.