The Bethesda Blog has word that the QUAKE LIVE Beta has been updated, surprising in that we did not know that the free online version of QUAKE III Arena was still in beta. This change list outlines the new player invite system, and more. Here's word that indicates a "premium" version of the game is indeed in the cards:

One feature of our upcoming Premium Service known as ‘Start a Match’ is currently in private testing and allows for leagues and players to start servers for other players to join. This update brings new features to the Start a Match capabilities, including the ability to start servers without passwords, the ability to restrict servers by player invite and the ability to specify a custom map rotation.