> I frequently
> have sub-minute response to/from addresses in North America, and the access
> time to Europe isn't much less.
 
Er.. Compare this to sub-second response via the Internet to/from addresses
in Japan and Europe from the U.S.
 
> but having studied (no, I have no direct INTERNET experience) both network
> designs, I definitely prefer BITNET's NJE over its counterpart.
 
At the risk of sounding flippant, I would strongly suggest you gain some
before making further serious recommendations in this area.
 
> And why should the networks be 'competing', both offer
> unique services, that each institution must balance prior to committing to
> one/other/both.
 
If there's any real "competition" between the two networks, it's due to
the Internet offering the same sorts of services as, and many more than
BITNET, and at much higher speeds and with far greater accessibility (e.g.,
real-time "browsing" of files on archive servers, real-time remote logins to
systems halfway around the world, etc.)
 
Simply put, there isn't much of a comparison between the two.