... particularly in places where download speeds are not what they are in the west.
I think in the far east download speeds are significantly faster than in the poor, underdeveloped west.
A while ago I downloaded the 16.04 image via torrent and wondered why it didn't work. I started the torrent, checked the download status and nothing was going on.
Turns out that image is so well seeded, that the download finished in just a few seconds. I downloaded the image several times before realizing it.
Mine is the one with the gigabit fiber in the pocket...