Well, you need to pay for updates, but even that is inaccurate. Before JDK 9, Java used to have major releases, now it doesn't, and the version name is incremented every six months even though the changes are small. So instead of a major release, that's supported for some years, there's now a steady stream of small, gradual change with free perpetual support. There's also an alternative new, non-gradual upgrade model, and if companies want to use it, they need to pay.

Not true. You can use the OpenJDK for free until the end of time. If you want ongoing updates beyond six months, there are a bunch of free distributions: Azul Zulu Community (7/8/11/13/14), AdoptOpenJDK (8/11/14), etc.

The whole subject is about Oracle's JDKs here, and that's a very recent development too.

Oracle distributes two JDKs: one for support customers and one 100% free, forever: http://jdk.java.net/

You don't "have to pay to use JDKs older than 6 months". You can "use JDKs older than 6 months", but you need to pay for updates for it!