No I can concur. There's definitely something odd about this. I've actually booted up where I don't have network connectivity and it all works well; until it gets news of an update (after I connect to a network).
This can also be caused on the home editions if your system can not reach the activity URL's but is not getting a tcp reset. Turning off telemetry won't disable this on the home editions and only reduces it on Pro. Do you have a home router that can intercept and log DNS requests? That makes it easier to see if this is the issue.