yamahaXS, when you drilled through up through the floor did you make it attractively nice when the wires are entering/leaving the floor? (just curious). So, you didn't have any quality problems with the telephone wires you bought at Home Depot?
I thought about running cat5 wire, but I think the wire guage is the same in both. But no, i figure wire is wire, and I use a thicker gauge than say the wire that runs from the jack to the phone.
Well, i own a ranch style home with basement, so the hole through the floor didn't really matter since I was drilling up into the inside of a wall. You can't see the hole unless you are standing in the basement and looking at the right place. Of couse, if that is the case, then you will be more distracted by the boxes of books and unpacked crap, the 1950's SpeedQueen ringer-washer, the utility sink, the lone and very unprivate toilet, or many of the other items in that portion of hte basement.
Oh, there is a panel outside the house, where the lines connect to the house. Then there is a panel inside the house that serves as a location for splicing all the various telephone lines onto the main line.