Are there any regions or countries where access to Azure OpenAI services is restricted or banned?

Question

1. Does Azure OpenAI have any limitations or restrictions on usage similar to OpenAI's list of supported countries (as mentioned here: https://platform.openai.com/docs/supported-countries)?
2. Are Azure OpenAI services, or Azure services in general, banned or restricted in any specific regions?
3. If my Azure OpenAI resource is deployed in a particular country (e.g., China), will I be able to access it from other countries? I understand there may be added latency, but are there any restrictions on cross-country access? (This may involve various combinations of hosting and accessing countries.)

Answer 1

Hi Siddharth Agarwal,
Greetings & Welcome to Microsoft Q&A forum! Thanks for posting your query!

Azure OpenAI services do not have a specific list of supported countries like OpenAI. However, access can be influenced by local regulations and compliance requirements

Azure services, including Azure OpenAI, are generally available globally, but some services might have regional restrictions due to compliance and regulatory requirements.

Access restrictions can be configured at the service level, such as IP restrictions or network security groups, to control inbound traffic

You can access your Azure OpenAI resource from other countries, even if it is deployed in a specific country like China. However, there might be added latency due to the geographical distance.

There are no inherent restrictions on cross-country access, but local regulations and compliance requirements might affect access.

I would suggest you, please check Model Summary table and region availability for more details.

Hope this helps. Do let us know if you have any further queries.

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