Wire has launched its OTT messaging service, pitching itself as the modern communications network.

Wire is entering a crowded market, and it remains to be seen whether theres room for a new service alongside Skype, WhatsApp, Line, Snapchat and the dozens of other messaging apps out there. The services selling points – sleek design, high-fidelity call quality and streamlined media sharing – represent incremental improvements over rivals offerings, rather than anything completely revolutionary.

However, its certainly not short on talent, with a 50-strong team including ex-employees from Apple, Skype, Nokia and Microsoft in its team. It also has the vote of confidence from backer Janus Friis, co-founder of Skype.

“Skype was launched more than a decade ago. A lot has changed since then – we are all used to free calls and texting, and we have taken to carrying our computers in our pockets,” said Friis. “It is time to create the best possible communication tools, as beautiful as they are useful. Wire is just that.”

Wire is available across iOS, Android and Mac OS X, with an embedded browser version due to launch shortly.