FWIW, it seems to be optimized for bursty/"streaming" connections (which makes sense considering the latency for each packet due to the nature of satellite internet). I've got an app (
Network Monitor Mini Pro) on my tablet that puts my download/upload speeds in small text at the top of my screen, and sometimes when watching Netflix in offline mode I'll see that I'm downloading something at ~1.4MByte/second- I realize that it's Netflix' "Smart Downloads" feature (deletes watched eps and automatically gets new ones if on WiFi) and pause the download (I can wait, no need in sucking up all the bandwidth for that).
(tl;dr: the bandwidth is potentially there, but it may not be optimal for random, small-packet usage like E-mail or webpages.)