Yes, my ping times used to be faster (9 - 12ms typical) when my download speeds were around 35Mbs. They upped the downloads to ~180Mbs but my ping times went up. Its a good trade-off as fast ping times don't do much for me but fast downloads save me a lot of time.
I'm not sure of exact server that speedtest.net uses from my location to whichever Comcast server they use but a traceroute to simply comcast.com is 8 hops.
We don't have Verizon Fios here. The competing ISP is "the phone company" and you already know how I feel about them. ;-)
I use my iPhone (Yes, iPhone!) as my internet backup if my Cable ISP goes down, or when I travel. I use the iPhone as a Wifi hotspot and speeds vary considerably depending on location. Here's what I'm getting from my home office on the iPhone:
