Aspects of the subject disclosure may include, for example, determining a target position of a particular physical location, accessing an image system that provides a number of images based on physical locations including the particular physical location, and obtaining a target image from the image system based on the particular physical location. The target image includes imaged features based on physical features of the particular physical location. Image processing is applied to the target image, and a particular physical feature is identified as a candidate deployment site based on the applying of the image processing, wherein the candidate deployment site is configured to accommodate equipment of a distributed communication network that facilitates transmission of electromagnetic waves along a surface of a transmission medium. Other embodiments are disclosed.