By the time that the 1.0 servers are shut down we should be at least near the start of beta if not already into it.

The reason it will take so long to migrate character data is simple; the new database system is far different than the old one. Instead of just copy/pasting everything over, various things must be changed. I imagine the new inventory data storage system stores the data far different considering it consists of individual sections instead of the list system we have now.

Locations must be changed (x,y,z coordinates) for remodeled areas, stats must be adjusted to fit with the new system, and so on... I personally would rather them take their time with the transfer the data and ensure everything is properly translated than risk losing things.

We will have 2.0 beta to play around with until our characters are ready. That way we can witness content that we may have missed out on using higher lvl and better geared characters.