BF2 10 player start limit

[Scott]

Sorry if there has been a discussion about this already but I am new to the
list.

What is EA's stance on the 10 player startup limit (for 32+ players) now
that they have taken measures to reduce the 'stat padding' ?

Our community is paying good $ for a server and since the 1.03 patch it is
hard to get the server going.  Sometimes we have to sit idle for in excess
of 30 minutes but once we get to 10 it fills up fast.  Would there really be
that much of a difference between needing 10 players as opposed to 4?