A method for service selection in mobile networks includes receiving from a control plane, a request for a user plane instance. The user plane instance is configured to perform packet processing for a user equipment during a communication session. The method also includes identifying a plurality of user plane instance candidates associated with a base station in communication with the user equipment. The plurality of user plane instance candidates is configurable by the control plane. For each user plane instance candidate, the method includes determining one or more selection parameters corresponding to a subset of key performance indicators for the base station. The method further includes selecting one of the plurality of user plane instance candidates to fulfill the request for the user plane instance from the control plane based on the one or more selection parameters determined for each of the plurality of user plane instance candidates.