Delay in connecting to the server and checking downloadable content

Sadly, yes, that is normal behavior.

Though your internet connection sounds to be well above normal!

I suspect the security checks are not resource-optimized, perhaps both on the Client and Server side.  If it is resource-optimized, then it is really excessive.

Sounds similar to my wait time before playing. On the upside the game is stable enough that I can switch back and forth between windows while gamming; I'll hit the space bar to skip the splash screens and while it's verifying I'll jump over to Firefox and take a look at the forums.