For those of us that have put up our own public and private gaming servers in the past, we know what that monthly fee buys us.
Unlike some other games (T2, CS, BF1942, etc.) the only gaming servers will be provided by SOE. It costs A LOT of money to get the bandwidth to pull this off. Have you had to price a T1 lately? Of course, that depends on where you live, but trust me you are getting a deal for ~$10/month.
Will SOE make money? They're BANKING on it! I'm sure they will, especially with a community like this before the game is even launched! WOW!
Also, I'm glad they are charging a monthly fee. Only the serious people will get involved with the game for an extended period of time. I want to play with/against serious people. Works for me.