That's my guess too, Ronald. Just like any other subscription, lease, rent, whatever: stop paying, and your access to it ends.
I think the object of the game, though, is to make it so that you'll be ready to subscribe to the next version of the Creative Suite, rather than have you stop cold when you feel like you've "paid enough" for the current version.
I know that Adobe is interested in evening out their revenue streams so that they don't go quiet for long stretches, followed by record quarters every 18 months. I'm quite certain that they're interested in making this as smooth as possible for you.
Tim Wilson
Associate Publisher, Editor-in-Chief
Creative COW Magazine
Twitter: timdoubleyou