Dubbo is the first location in the Central West to get 5G.

Telstra chief executive officer Andrew Penn said there were three key ways 5G differed from 4G. The first is the speed. Mr Penn said 5G would be ten times faster than 4G.

"I was with some of my technical colleagues here earlier and we were testing the speeds, as we tend to do when we get a bit geeky about this stuff and we were getting 600 megabits per second download speeds using a 5G phone," he said.

During the rollout of 5G, Telstra is also upgrading their capacity and speeds on 4G.

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Mr Penn said in Dubbo on Wednesday he was still getting 200 megabits per second on the 4G network.

Another benefit to 5G is the increased capacity, while the last difference is that it's the first mobile tower network that has been designed to connect things other than mobile phones.

"Today we're seeing sensors in everything from wheelie bins to lamp posts, cars to agricultural equipment. As the volume of things that get connected increase, we need a network that can take that capacity," Mr Penn said.

There are currently six 5G towers in Dubbo with another two expected to use the new network in the coming weeks.

At this stage, 5G can be accessed in Dubbo by Telstra customers with a 5G-compatible phone.

Mr Penn said Dubbo was chosen as one of the early 5G locations because it was a "regional development business centre" with an emerging start-up community.

"These days, any business big and small is competing globally because the internet has effectively democratised competition and has taken down those barriers to entry. We want businesses and start-ups in Dubbo to be able to complete on a global scale and Dubbo is a really great example of a regional community that's really progressive in that area," he said.

Federal Member for Parkes Mark Coulton said businesses relied on connectivity.

"The way that we are doing business is changing ever so much so while people are waiting for a taxi they're purchasing their Christmas presents. It's important that we have that capacity for people to be able to do that," Mr Coulton said.

The 5G networks will continue to be rolled out across the country.

Mr Penn said it would be about 10 years before 6G was on the cards.

"6G is not really on the agenda at the moment but historically what's tended to be the case is it's every decade we see these changes to a new generation of telecommunications technology so my guess is [it would be available] in the late 2020s," he said.