The Federal Communication Commission's net neutrality rules remain in effect with the backing in federal courts.

High-speed internet service can now be defined as a utility, a federal court has ruled, clearing the way for more rigorous policies and protection for internet users.

Opponents against the FCC's rules for the Open Internet have reportedly planned to take the challenge up to the Supreme Court.

"We have always expected this issue to be decided by the Supreme Court, and we look forward to participating in that appeal," said AT&T General Counsel David McAtee in a statement after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled 2-1 Tuesday in favor of the FCC's rules, reported USA Today.

AT&T was one among the many, who filed a suit in 2015 challenging the rules of net neutrality. It was among the several cases, which was finally merged into one filled by USTelecom, a trade association, which included AT&T and Verizon among many others.

The 2-to-1 decision from a three-judge panel at the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Tuesday came in a case about rules applying to a doctrine known as net neutrality, which prohibit broadband companies from blocking or slowing the delivery of internet content to consumers, reported the New York Times.

Although, majority of the opponents are still against the judgment, yet President Obama has called for strict mandate for broadband providers.

"After a decade of debate and legal battles, today's ruling affirms the commission's ability to enforce the strongest possible internet protections - both on fixed and mobile networks - that will ensure the internet remains open, now and in the future," Tom Wheeler, chairman of the F.C.C., said in a statement.

The two judges who had ruled in the favor of F.C.C emphasized the importance of the internet as essential communications and information platform for consumers.