Well whether true or not, only time can tell.
Good news is since the PlayStation 3 has an other online internet capability. the patches could at least (I hope) could come from a third party online fan made source in the future.
You can even run an online server with a PlayStation 3 console, if you know how. you can also create your own online game server online and connect other PS3's to it, although I never tried or never knew how to do this. But A long time ago I spoke to a SONY customer support member and he said that this is possible but he didn't recommend this however.
The PS3 has a lot of hidden abilities that could make it possible to get the patches downloaded directly to the PS3 off any online source.